Digging Deeper Into Liverpool’s Victory Over Arsenal

Liverpool were the absolute business as they dismantled Arsenal to the tune of 4-0. Better than the Gunners in every area of the pitch, the Reds took apart the in form team in the country at every phase of the match. Jurgen Klopp and his team are just so much better than Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, and we saw that today for 90 minutes. It was relentless from Sadio Mane and Mo Salah and Thiago and Oxlade Chamberlin and all of them.

The buildup to this match was very interesting. Arsenal came into this one unbeaten in ten matches after their horrendous start of the season. They were rightfully being praised for turning their ship around and Arteta was getting the most out of his team. However, they’re just not at Liverpool’s level. We saw that today over and over again.

Liverpool came into this one with a lot of weird narratives. Of course, the match before this wasn’t ideal as West Ham defeated the Reds. International breaks — and the matches that follow them — always seem to be tricky for Klopp and his boys, but they needed to come out flying to put a marker down for the rest of the league. And they executed that very well on Saturday night at Anfield. It could’ve been tricky, but it wasn’t and that’s because Liverpool were the absolute business. A fantastic display from the men in Red.

Winners and Losers

Winners

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin

This was a very important performance for the Liverpool midfielder. He’s not had the best run of form recently when the midfield has been missing bodies, but today he was very good. He was consistently the 3rd option on the right side with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah. Very good at driving the ball forward when he picked up possession. With a great performance in the books against his former team, he can build on it for the rest of the season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

How about the hyphen boys tonight? We’re simply running out of ways to praise Trent. He’s so unbelievably good, I wonder if we’re sort of taking him for granted at this point. Two more beautiful assists to his tally, and completely shutdown Arsenal’s left flank. He’s playing at his very best, and is probably the best English player right now.

The Front Three

There’s been a lot of complaining about the loss of Roberto Firmino, and some of that has been warranted because he’s been very good this season. However, Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane, and Mo Salah are also very good at soccer kicks and stuff. All three got on the scoresheet tonight while playing some scintillating football. The combination for Salah’s goal was incredible.

Losers

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal played very, very well for the first 30 minutes of the match. They did really well to frustrate Liverpool’s options and were blocking every passing lane. Then Arteta decided to pop off about something stupid. That pissed off Klopp, the fans, and the players. Then Arteta was put in the mud over and over again. Had he kept his cool it’s almost certain that the match would’ve been more boring. Tough scenes for Mr. LEGO Hair.

Nuno Tavares

Arsenal’s leftback is going to be having nightmares of his performance at Anfield. The Portuguese defender was brought in this summer to deputize Kieran Tierney and has done a very good job, but he’s not had to play against Trent and Salah. Doesn’t help that he could basically be credited with an assist for Jota’s goal.

What Happens Next?

Liverpool have a dead rubber midweek against Porto in the Champions League, but it is an opportunity to get rhythm into the team. Klopp loves rhythm and I suspect he’ll go with a decently strong lineup on Tuesday.

But in the grander scheme of things, this team is very, very much on the mark. Make no mistake the Reds put down a marker for the rest of the league. They were relentless and ruthless and want everyone to know how good they are. Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, and Mo Salah are not shy. Sadio Mane wants you to know he’s here to win trophies. Doubt these men at your own peril. The win against Arsenal is about us having fun in November, but it’s also about being serious in May.

This team is going to be playing for trophies in May. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.