The two teams drew 0-0 at Anfield last week, although Arsenal played most of the match with ten men after Granit Xhaka was sent off, but all this fatigue was lost today.
Despite the absence of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita to participate with their teams in the African Nations Cup, Liverpool came under early pressure and Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette hit the woodwork with a free kick before Jota put the visiting team ahead in the 19th minute.
Guta doubled the lead in the 77th minute and scored the goal after reviewing the VAR after it was initially canceled due to offside.
Thomas Partey’s second yellow card was sent off on a disastrous night for Arsenal after fouling Fabinho.
Liverpool will seek to win the League Cup for the ninth time, a record, when they face Chelsea, who reached the final by winning 3-0 on aggregate over Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said: “We are very happy, the atmosphere in the dressing room was happy. Arsenal were the best in the first half and so were their fans, but we managed to calm things down. We scored two great goals.”
Arsenal fans’ hopes were revived when Lacazette kicked a ball past Liverpool goalkeeper Kevin Kelleher and hit the crossbar.
But Liverpool began to dominate the match and opened the scoring well deservedly.
Roberto Firmino’s pass reached Trent Alexander-Arnold, who passed it to Jota to dodge Takehiro Tomiyasu before firing past Aaronrmsdale.
Mikel Arteta’s side fell into a slump and Liverpool looked more comfortable after that, although Lacazette missed another opportunity.
Liverpool’s Kid Gordon missed an opportunity to consolidate his team’s advantage, and a header from substitute Ibrahima Konate hit the bottom of the post.
Arsenal held on to hope, but Liverpool settled the confrontation when Alexander-Arnold passed a ball to Jota to put it in the net.
“Diogo Jota is an amazing player, his statistics speak for themselves,” said Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
“He’s an important player, he’s shown that since last year and he’s a very difficult striker to face. I know that from training. He showed his form again tonight.”
.