There was a time, not that long ago, when almost all big games were stiflingly tense affairs – cautious, cagey, almost unwatchable but for the exquisite tension, the sense that this was too important to expect the football to be entertaining. The goal-heavy thrillers of the Pep Guardiola-Jürgen Klopp rivalry were a welcome diversion, but they always felt oddly transgressive – were we sure major clashes were supposed to be that much fun? In that sense, Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday fit into a long-established tradition; in time the tedium will fall away in the collective memory and all that will remain is the majesty of Dominik Szoboszlai’s match-winning free-kick.
Two other more recent traditions were observed amid the anxiety of Anfield: that Arne Slot will always somehow find a way, and that Arsenal will always somehow come up short. Few managers have ever had such a golden touch as Slot; he has a remarkable capacity to make decisions that don’t just change the outcome of a game, but do so in an obvious and unmissable way.
Liverpool have not been anywhere near their best this season. They have looked open and unbalanced. They are, of course, dealing with their grief at the death of Diogo Jota. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez have been sold. Five senior players have arrived, with Alexander Isak set to join that list. And yet at the international break, they stand top of the Premier League table as the only side with three wins from three. Against Bournemouth and Newcastle, they let slip two-goal advantages and then regained the lead with goals from substitutes.
Against Arsenal, they were more cautious, perhaps overcompensating for the wildness that had characterised the opening two games. According to Opta, they mustered an xG of just 0.4 against Arsenal’s 0.5, by a factor of almost two the lowest combined xG in a game so far this season. And yet they won.
There had seemed a danger before the season began that Szoboszlai would be the odd man out. If Florian Wirtz, signed for £100m (about $135m), operated behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, it seemed reasonable to assume that the two more defensive players in last season’s midfield trio, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, would play as the pair in front of the back four. And so, since Gravenberch returned having missed the Community Shield as his partner gave birth and the opening game of the season through suspension, it has proved. But with Alexander-Arnold gone, Jeremie Frimpong injured and Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez returning to fitness, Szoboszlai found himself drafted in as an improbable auxiliary right-back.
Who, honestly, can say they thought he had the skill-set to play at full-back? But he has taken to the role with gusto and has played a decisive part in the last two wins. Against Newcastle last week, Szoboszlai looked rather more comfortable than the career full-back on the other flank, his compatriot Milos Kerkez, who has had a difficult start to life at Liverpool. Then, having been released into midfield by the introduction of Bradley, it was Szoboszlai’s dummy that created the space for Rio Ngumoha’s injury-time winner. On Sunday he arced a stunning 32-yard free-kick in off the inside of the post with seven minutes remaining.
Will Szoboszlai remain at right-back? It remains implausible, and yet he has already performed creditably there against two of last season’s top five. While Mohamed Salah has had a slow start – his relationship with Hugo Ekitiké is still in its infancy, and his touch looks unusually deliberate – Szoboszlai has at least started to offer the sort of precise early passes that Alexander-Arnold gave the Egyptian, something Frimpong, more of a ball-carrier, did not.
Temporary or not, Slot has found a solution that has worked. He has a glorious knack of shifting games to his will. The contrast with Mikel Arteta is obvious. Arteta has done a remarkable job in his five and a half years at Arsenal: he has turned a drifting club into serious title challengers. They are no longer the soft touches of old, unbeaten in 22 games against “big six” sides before Sunday (although whether Manchester United and Tottenham justify inclusion in that designation remains debatable). But equally, Arteta has never won at Anfield or the Etihad.
Could he be blamed for caginess given he was missing Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, with Martin Ødegaard restricted to a role from the bench and William Saliba going off early? Perhaps not. But Arsenal have a depth of squad these days. Mikel Merino in midfield and Noni Madueke on the right are not bad options. Liverpool were vulnerable, yet Arsenal barely tested them. Against Manchester United and Leeds, they had been similarly passive, waiting for a mistake, and then taking advantage. Liverpool did not succumb.
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And while Arsenal could say it took a freakishly brilliant free-kick to beat them, it would be just as true to say that Arteta’s record is of near-misses, while Slot somehow keeps producing wins from nowhere.
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This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.
