This was the day to make a statement for Arsenal. Fresh off the back of winning the north London derby, Arsenal had the chance to go top of the Premier League with a win over Liverpool. And they only went and did it. Jurgen Klopp’s side have tormented the Gunners in recent times and Arsenal have only beaten Liverpool once in their last 14 meetings, but this time Mikel Arteta and his men proved they have grown.
We thought there would be goals. In fact, no Premier League fixture in history has seen more goals than this one, so the 3-2 scoreline perhaps comes as no surprise. But the fact that this time it fell in Arsenal’s favour tells us everything.
Gabriel Martinelli was magnificent, Bukayo Saka sensational and Arsenal started like a house on fire. In the opening minute Martinelli fired home after a wonderful and rapid counter-attack saw Saka and Odegaard combine wonderfully. Liverpool were once again torn apart and once again conceded the first goal - a running theme for them this season.
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But what was most impressive about this particular Arsenal win was the way they kept coming back from setbacks. Liverpool equalised when Luis Diaz broke clear on the right and cut the ball back for Darwin Nunez to finish and the away side had found a route back into the game. With their tails up, the home crowd began to get irate, but after Diaz was forced off injured, Arsenal nabbed the lead again.
Just a minute before the break, Martinelli streaked away on the left. With Jordan Henderson tracking him, Trent Alexander-Arnold inexplicably sprinted over from his central berth to leave space in the middle. The Brazilian cut back inside and played the ball across goal for Saka to tap in at the far post. It was a difficult finish made to look so simple.
We can talk all day about Trent’s defensive problems, which are obvious, but Martinelli deserves huge credit for his performance levels. He was absolutely sensational and the Liverpool backline were constantly on high alert due to his movement and pace.
However, once the right-back had been subbed at half-time, Liverpool came back into the game. Roberto Firmino was found by Jota and his superb record against the Gunners continued as he found the far corner with aplomb. This was another test for Arsenal. The crowd, so often a negative at the Emirates, rallied around them and they came back again.
Arsenal take the lead after just a minute...
#ARSLIV | @StreamTvArsenal
After a flurry of chances Granit Xhaka crossed for Gabriel Jesus, who felt the slightest of touches from Thiago, and Michael Oliver pointed to the spot. Saka, who has become a reliable taker for his club, fired home into the bottom left corner. Then, they made themselves hard to beat. They saw out the win. They looked like title contenders.
Critics mocked Arsenal for their easy start to the season when they were top after a few matches. Well, now they’ve beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in back-to-back home games to go back ahead of Manchester City to the top of the Premier League table. People thought that Arsenal would improve this season, but not even the fiercest of Arsenal fans had them winning eight of their opening nine.
Arteta has created something hugely impressive in north London. Manchester City are expected to run away with the Premier League. With Erling Haaland, they should win it by a country mile. But Arsenal are something else this season. The biggest credit you can give to them at the minute is that this young team is going toe-to-toe with City.
They might not be able to beat them to the title come May, but the fact Arteta has got them anywhere near the conversation is quite something. Arsenal are already 14 points clear of Liverpool, having been 23 points behind them at the end of the last campaign. They should finish in the top four at the absolute minimum from this position, but those Gunners will be dreaming of a whole lot more.
Mikel Arteta has Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
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