London: Liverpool registered a 3-1 win over Arsenal that might make the Gunners realise they’re not yet ready to fight it out with the big guys.
Two goals by Mohammed Salah following a tremendous header by Joel Matip Saturday finished off Arsenal that early on seemed to be on par with Liverpool.
The first chance for the Gunners came when Adrian, who continues in the starting line-up in the absence of Alisson Becker, had a misunderstanding with Virgil Van Dijk and gave the ball away to Aubameyang, who attempted a chip shot that went erratically wide of the post.
Shots from the sidelines by Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold found no striker to finish off the chances they created. Then Arsenal seemed set to score thanks to Nicolas Pepe in his first game as a starter.
The former Lille player, the most expensive acquisition in the history of the club, had two opportunities to put Arsenal in the lead. First, he got around Henderson but Adrian blocked his shot. Second, his shot from outside the area was headed for the upper corner of the net but just missed.
After Arsenal failed to take advantage of some good chances, Liverpool punished them, as if to remind them that they still have a way to go to compete with the best.
In one of the innumerable corners accumulated by the Reds in the first half, Alexander-Arnold found Matip in the area, who headed it into the net to put Liverpool in the lead 1-0 at the 41st minute.
Just minutes into the second half, when the Brazilian David Luiz grabbed Salah’s shirt and referee Anthony Taylor caught him at it and called a penalty, the Egyptian took advantage of the foul and booted the ball into the top right corner to boost Liverpool’s lead to 2-0 in the 49th minute.
That wrapped up the game, but Salah wasn’t finished yet. In the 59th minute, he found the back of the net to make it 3-0.
But Arsenal was not to be kept completely off the scoreboard as Lucas Torreira made a last-ditch goal to make it 3-1 at the end of the game.
Liverpool now leads the Premier League with nine points.
IANS