Jose Reina's comical gaffe gifted Arsenal a 1-1 draw at Liverpool after the hosts had battled manfully to recover from Joe Cole's first-half sending-off.
Liverpool's new signing Cole was shown the red card just before half-time for a lunge on Laurent Koscielny, but David Ngog's thumping drive appeared set to give Roy Hodgson three points in his first Premier League game in charge.
However, in the final minute, Reds keeper Reina first made a mess of a cross into the box and then fumbled the ball over his own line after it had bounced back off the post.
Chances were scarce during a stilted first half, with Reina beating away Thomas Vermaelen's free-kick and Milan Jovanovic wastefully lashing a volley off target.
The game erupted in the minutes before and after half-time as Ngog saw his header cleared off the line by Gael Clichy after Glen Johnson's drive had been tipped over by Manuel Almunia.
And, in first-half stoppage-time, Cole was dismissed by referee Martin Atkinson for a rash challenge on Arsenal debutant Koscielny by the touchline.
Rather than let their heads drop at going down to 10 men, Liverpool burst out of the blocks after the interval and grabbed the lead on 47 minutes when Ngog blasted a shot into the top corner after being slipped in by Javier Mascherano.
Arsenal struggled to make the most of their numerical advantage and it appeared their pursuit of an equaliser would end in failure after Tomas Rosicky's curler was tipped over by Reina.
But, in the final minute, Reina failed to deal with a cross into the penalty area and, after the ball clattered off Marouane Chamakh and the post, the Liverpool keeper spilled it over his own line.
Steven Gerrard tested Almunia with a late free-kick before Koscielny emulated Cole by being sent off on his Premier League bow for his new club after picking up a harsh second yellow card for handball.