Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal 
by James Nalton 
at Anfield

MOHAMED SALAH produced a moment of brilliance to seal a win for Liverpool against Arsenal on Saturday evening.

It put the shine on what was an enterprising, hard-working display from the home side who made all the running while Arsenal threatened on the counter-attack.

Joel Matip opened the scoring with a towering header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner, before Salah won and converted a penalty after David Luiz tugged his shirt in the box.

Then came Salah’s solo moment. He left Luiz chasing his shadow on the halfway line, sprinting away from Arsenal’s covering defenders before placing his shot past Bernd Leno.

If Liverpool’s players are struggling following a busy summer of international football, they showed no signs of it here.

Arsenal’s midfield didn’t get a sniff, and Dani Ceballos, who ran the midfield for the Gunners against Burnley last week, was substituted on 61 minutes having failed to make an impact at Anfield.

“We showed a lot of desire, passion, power and energy in this game, which made us uncomfortable to play against,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who is already looking forward to his own side’s meeting with Burnley on Saturday.

“We go to a very difficult place. I couldn’t have more respect for what they are doing. 

“We will watch them [against Wolves], but Burnley at their home will be really tricky.”

Arsenal had their moments. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tried to capitalise on an error from Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian, but his effort drifted wide. 

Nicolas Pepe was a threat and created a chance for himself on the counter, but was denied by Adrian.

“We are reducing the distance between Liverpool and us, but today was not enough,” said Arsenal manager Unai Emery.

“Next week we have another challenge, against Spurs, but it’s very important to be consistent.

“We need to be consistent across 38 matches. Not only in special matches. Every match.”