Arsenal suffered another setback in their pursuit of Champions League football this season, as the Gunners suffered an embarrassing 4-0 loss to rivals Liverpool at Anfield this afternoon in a performance which saw the north London side fail to register a shot on target.
Liverpool opened the scoring in the 17th minute, as a perfectly weighted cross from right-back Joe Gomez was guided in by Brazilian Roberto Firmino to give the home side an early lead.
Things then got worse for Arsene Wenger’s side five minutes before half time, as a pass from Firmino set Senegalese winger Sadio Mane away down the left hand side, as the former Southampton man cut in onto his preferred right foot and fired a stunning effort into the Arsenal goal which left ‘keeper Petr Cech hopeless.
Jurgen Klopp’s side then put the game out of sight 12 minutes after the break, as a horrendous mistake from Hector Bellerin allowed summer signing Mohamed Salah, who joined the club from Roma for £34M according to the BBC, to go through one-on-one with Cech and, with the whole half to himself, slotted the ball past the former Chelsea shot-stopper to all but secure the three points for the home side, much to the joy of the Anfield faithful.
Liverpool then completed the rout in the 77th minute, after substitute Daniel Sturridge headed in at the back post from a fabulous left-footed delivery from winger Salah.
Salah had a golden opportunity to open the scoring very early in the first half, after a super cross from Emre Can left the winger with an open net to pass the ball into, however the Egyptian somehow managed to steer his shot straight at Cech in the Arsenal goal.
For Liverpool, their performance was sublime, and is that should fill the Reds fans with confidence as they look to mount a serious title challenge this season.
All in all, the performance from the away side was nothing short of embarrassing, and is one that will definitely have left manager Wenger with a lot to think about going forward this season.
Liverpool player ratings: Karius 6, Gomez 6, Lovren 6, Matip 6, Moreno 6, Can 8, Wijnaldum 7, Henderson 7, Salah 9, Mane 7, Firmino 8
Substitutes: Milner 6, Sturridge 7, Grujic N/A
Arsenal player ratings: Cech 5, Oxlade-Chamberlain 5, Holding 3, Koscielny 5, Monreal 6, Bellerin 6, Xhaka 4, Ramsey 4, Ozil 5, Sanchez 5, Welbeck 6
Substitutes: Coquelin 5, Giroud 6, Lacazette 6