Bukayo Saka disappointed with Liverpool result but happy to beat Thierry Henry to milestone – ‘He has every record’

Saka, who was a doubt due to injury, put the Gunners ahead in the ninth minute before Virgil van Dijk headed in the equalizer nine minutes later.

Mikel Merino restored the home team’s lead just before half-time, but Mohamed Salah saved a point for Liverpool late on.

Henry was 24 years and 128 days old when he reached the half-century milestone for the Gunners, but Saka beat that by 23 years and 52 days on Sunday.

And while the Arsenal striker said he was happy to reach the milestone in record time, he indicated he was disappointed with the result.

“He has every record, Thierry Henry, so yeah, it’s nice,” he told Sky Sports when asked about the record.

“Of course you want to win the match, but I have to be happy with this.”

Saka was asked if his celebration was a nod to the Premier League legend, but he was quick to point out that the pioneering Frenchman did it all first.

“Everything is Thierry Henry-like, when you score it’s Thierry Henry-like, when you celebrate it’s Thierry Henry-like.”

The result leaves Liverpool in second place in the Premier League, while the Gunners end the weekend in third place.

Arsenal were dominant in the first half but let the visitors get back into the game as the match progressed.

Saka revealed that the Arsenal dressing room was frustrated as they could not put together a 90-minute performance.

“It’s a bit disappointed (Arsenal’s dressing room),” he said.

“Thanks to Liverpool, they are a good team, but we feel like we didn’t show our best selves for the full 90 minutes.

“Yes, 100% (Arsenal were not so good in the second half), I think we showed our qualities in the first half.

“We dominated, we didn’t give them anything, they only scored from a set piece. I don’t think they had another chance, I don’t remember any.

“In the second half we sat back a bit and weren’t at our best. I don’t know (why it changed).

“It just felt like Liverpool had the momentum. They won more games than us, they kept more possession than us and then of course the momentum goes to them and we have to defend more.”

Arsenal defender Gabriel was forced off the field with an injury in the 64th minute.

Mikel Arteta refused to comment on whether the injury would result in Liverpool’s equalizer, but the Spaniard insisted no-one could have predicted Arsenal’s injury crisis at the start of the season.

“I don’t know (if it has had an impact on the team) and we won’t know, but at the moment it is reality,” he said.

“We have to face it, that’s it. We’re going to stay (in the fight for the Premier League title) and we’re going to do our best.

“Again, I think about the context, we lost these players in nine games. Nobody could have ever imagined that would be the case, but I think the character and the personality today, the way we played against the top team again today played, in the Premier League at this time it was unbelievable.”