Liverpool maintain 100% focus on win over Arsenal
Premier League champions Liverpool maintained their 100% start to the season with a 3-1 win against Arsenal at Anfield on Monday leaving them level on nine points with pacesetters Everton and Leicester City.
The visitors took the lead via an Alexandre Lacazette strike but Liverpool were in front by the break because of goals from Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson while substitute Diogo Jota made sure of the win with a late strike on his debut.
Liverpool created the first openings with Trent Alexander Arnold triggering Arsenal problems down their left. His cross was headed goalwards by Virgil van Dijk but David Luiz cleared off the line and then another ball from the full-back was volleyed straight at goalkeeper Bernd Leno by Mane.
However, in the 25th minute, totally against the run of play, Arsenal grabbed the lead if they broke down the left and Robertson miscontrolled Ainsley Matiland-Niles' cross, the ball falling to Lacazette whose scuffed shot deceived keeper Alisson.
Liverpool responded swiftly though, drawing level three minutes later when Mohamed Salah burst in from the left and Leno parried his shot directly into the path of Mane who made no mistake from close range.
Robertson then made up for his mistake when he was picked out by Alexander-Arnold at the far post, chested the cross down and flicked the ball past Leno to create it 2-1 after 34 minutes.
DEBUT GOAL
Arsenal made life more difficult for the house side following the break and really should have drawn level in the 63rd minute when Lacazette sprung the offside trap but his shot was too possible for Alisson, who parried it to safety.
New Liverpool signing Jota, the Portuguese forward captured from Wolverhampton Wanderers, marked his debut from the bench with the target that ensured of the win as he struck a well-taken volley from the edge of the box.
"(We were) dominant against a team in form and careful as hell that people did not get caught on the counter-attack," said Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp.
"Alisson had to create one save, that they had two chances in behind but after that the football we played was exceptional tonight," he added.
The Gunners, who won their first two games, have finally gone 28 matches with out a win away from home against 'Big Six' opposition but manager Mikel Arteta saw signs of improvement.
"We were in the overall game for a big portion of the game. The truth is they are more advanced than us in lots of aspects. You could see that in some phases," said the Spaniard.
"I'm really happy in the way the team competed and kept believing. Here is the standard we must reach. We are on a different journey. They are together five years, we've had a couple of months".
