Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal: Five Things We Learned

The Monday Night Football attraction that was Liverpool vs Arsenal certainly didn’t disappoint as the Reds and the Gunners played out an entertaining clash at Anfield. Mikel Arteta’s men were able to take the lead but it didn’t take long for the Champions of England to bounce back, and eventually, the hosts took over and secured the three points.

Today, we’re going to take a look at five interesting points we took away from the game.

Fortunate Mane

Sadio Mane, for many people, is Liverpool’s best player and there’s definitely a debate to be had about that. He scored the equalising goal and really did produce the kind of Man of the Match performance that adds validity to the argument that he’s better than Mohamed Salah. Still, he was incredibly fortunate to still be on the pitch after the first few minutes when he clocked Kieran Tierney with a high arm that probably should’ve warranted a red card.

Arsenal improvements

They didn’t win the game and they didn’t even pick up a point, but there’s still a whole lot to enjoy and praise regarding Arsenal’s overall performance. Sure, they were pushed into a corner by a team that is further along in their development, but Arsenal still went ahead and they still showed flashes of brilliance. The Arteta project is going to take some time to come into full effect but the positive signs are there for all to see.

Lacazette – hero to zero?

Alexandre Lacazette kept his composure when Andrew Robertson handed him the ball on a plate, giving Arsenal a valuable first half lead. Alas, while that was a big moment for Arsenal on Merseyside, he could’ve had an even bigger one when he raced away before tamely knocking his shot at Alisson when the score was locked at 2-1.

Jota’s potential

Plenty of fans decided to ridicule Liverpool when they spent more than £40 million on Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Diogo Jota, but those same fans will now be calling it an absolute masterstroke after the Portuguese star scored on his Anfield debut. He was confident, fast, and best of all, he seems to have found his scoring boots once again after a poor end to last season with Wolves.

Aston Villa intrigue

Liverpool will go toe to toe with Arsenal again in the Carabao Cup later this week but after that, they’ll travel to the Midlands to take on Aston Villa. While they’re obviously expected to win, with 888sport pricing them as 3/10 favourites, we’re interested to see how Villa approach the game. They’ve secured two wins from two in the Premier League this season without conceding a single goal and Liverpool will have to work pretty hard to try and break them down.