Arsenal fans make outlandish claims on social media that Liverpool overwatered Anfield’s pitch ‘on purpose’ to slow down the Gunners… as they insist the playing surface was ‘DANGEROUS’ in Saturday’s 1-1 draw

Arsenal fans have bizarrely claimed on social media that the Anfield pitch was deliberately flooded by Liverpool ahead of Saturday's 1-1 draw.

Heading into the match, both sides had the potential to top the Premier League if they secured three points.

Mikel Arteta's side seized the initiative early on, with Gabriel putting the visitors ahead just three minutes after kick-off after heading home from Martin Odegaard's free-kick.

Liverpool hit back before the break with Mohamed Salah scoring his 16th goal of the season in all competitions to level the score.

Both sides searched for a winner in an intense clash engulfed in controversy surrounding strong challenges and VAR decisions, but the game was ultimately drawn allowing the Gunners to retain their place at the top of the table.

Clips posted on social media appear to show several players slipping on the playing surface

After the match, several Gunners fans made bizarre claims that the pitch had been deliberately constructed to be slippery for their players.

Bukayo Saka appeared to slip as he challenged Kostas Tsimikas, with the Greek defender suffering a broken collarbone after sliding out of play and colliding with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.

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'Deliberately overwatered to slow down our play and accommodate their long ball tactics. Just look how slowly the ball rolls.

'Every through ball becomes slower and the timing when dribbling is not good. The worst part is how dangerous it is for players.”

The same user shared a video of Saka appearing to slip while under pressure from Ryan Gravenberch, landing dangerously and then clattering into the Dutch midfielder.

“We talk about player welfare and protecting the players. This could have ended in horror. Just look at Saka's knee.'

Another user agreed with the claim that the condition of the field was intentional: “They did it on purpose. They can't deal with our possession-based tactics.”

Meanwhile, another Arsenal fan made a bold claim, claiming that one side of the pitch had specifically been overwatered, to the detriment of the visitors:

They said: 'The pitch at Anfield had not been cut since Wednesday evening. It was also heavily watered before the match, and at half time the only side to get water was the Anfield Road end….

Fans argued that the playing surface was dangerous and intended to stifle Arsenal's style

'There's a reason why Liverpool played long balls and our players slipped a lot in the final third #dirtytactics'

Another argued that the conditions almost cost Arsenal the match, writing: 'Liverpool's terrible throwing almost won them the match due to slips from Ødegaard and Zinchenko, but in the end Tsimikas was injured, putting Saka and Gravenberch in danger, and possibly Diaz too. . They only have themselves to blame for that.'

Another fan wrote that the decision to supposedly overwater was Liverpool's, but in the end it cost them a lot of money: 'Overwatering the pitch or not watering it at all is the home team's choice. Perfectly allowed.

'But if it potentially leads to our players slipping on the pitch and unfortunately a few Liverpool players getting injured as a result, is there anything to complain about?'

Liverpool Football Club told MailOnline that these claims were completely unfounded and that they would 'not legitimize this nonsense with any form of response'.