If Liverpool are to successfully defend their Premier League title, they will look back on the moment when Dominik Szoboszlai sank Arsenal with a late and sensational free-kick as a foundation stone. There had been little between these rivals, the only clubs that maintained 100% records at kick-off time; pragmatism holding sway for long spells. Or maybe it was the fear of defeat.
Would Arsenal have taken another Anfield draw beforehand? The answer was probably yes and it appeared that Mikel Arteta had placed the emphasis on being difficult to beat, first and foremost, with his line-up. He would use his new signing, Eberechi Eze, only as a 70th minute substitute.
In the end, Arteta got nothing and it was because of what Szoboszlai produced with seven minutes of regulation time remaining. The free-kick was 30 yards out but he made light of the distance with a stunning execution, the technique generating vicious dip and fade – and leaving David Raya clutching at thin air. Could the Arsenal goalkeeper have got across more effectively? What was plain was that Szoboszlai also brought precision to the party, the ball placed perfectly inside Raya’s right-hand post.
Lads, it’s August. And yet it was easy to see this as a marker from Liverpool; a declaration of their intent. And this is before they make their final moves in a blockbuster transfer window, which could see them add Alexander Isak and Marc Guéhi and push their spending towards £500m.
Arsenal were the better team in the first half, even if they created little. Neither team did across the piece. It was that kind of contest. But Liverpool rallied in the second period and if one team was going to score, it felt as though it would be them.
Szoboszlai, who stood in at right-back for the injured Jeremie Frimpong, ensured it was one to remember. Thanks to Manchester City’s defeat at Brighton earlier in the day, Liverpool now have a little bit of daylight over both of their principal rivals.
Arsenal had to go back to September 2012 for their previous league win here; Arteta was a player for them that day as goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla secured a 2-0 victory.
Arteta’s plan on this occasion was to be solid and physical; to stop Liverpool. To that end, it was a blow to lose William Saliba to injury in the early running. Arteta had started Mikel Merino in the No 10 role instead of Martin Ødegaard, who was not fully fit. It was a surprise to see Eze among the substitutes.
It was tense. Arsenal could feel their hearts thump when they tried to work their play-out-from the back patterns. And yet they got them to click in the initial exchanges; a sign of the personality that Arteta wanted to see. Martín Zubimendi was prominent. Arsenal’s aggressive press, meanwhile, was a feature. Liverpool had a few nervy moments as they attempted to build from their defensive third.
It was possible to wonder whether a loose pass out and a turnover forced in a dangerous area would be decisive. The odds in the first-half appeared to point towards Arsenal making something happen in this regard. And yet it was Liverpool who had the big moment on 34 minutes when Raya erred and Virgil van Dijk out-muscled Zubimendi. The Liverpool captain had a shooting opportunity only to look for Mohamed Salah and a pass that was not there.
after newsletter promotion
The creative quality was absent in a first-half that Arsenal shaded. Arteta’s team looked for Noni Madueke on the right; it was clear that he had the pace to trouble Milos Kerkez. Twice in the first-half Madueke almost got the better of his man. Kerkez, though, made last-ditch interventions. Madueke also worked Alisson after a corner broke for him.
It was the first time this season that Arne Slot was able to play Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister at the base of the midfield. Liverpool had to better free themselves from Arsenal’s headlock in the second half and they took higher starting positions upon the restart.
It became increasingly clear that one moment or maybe an error could be the difference. The Kop demanded more from their players, although not Ibrahima Konaté, who bullied Viktor Gyökeres. He gave him nothing. It was a blow when Konaté limped off towards the end.
Mac Allister fizzed a pass to Florian Wirtz and Raya found his low shot too hot to handle, spilling it to Cody Gakpo, who the goalkeeper then cleaned out; an obvious penalty. Except that Gakpo was offside. The ball deflected in off Cristhian Mosquera but it would not count.
Arteta introduced Ødegaard and Eze for Merino and Gabriel Martinelli in the 70th minute and, by that point, the tide had turned. Liverpool brought the intensity. Arsenal’s priority was their defensive shape. Declan Rice blocked a Salah shot after good work from Wirtz, who also had to depart with an injury, before Szoboszlai took centre stage.
