Liverpool 1 - Arsenal 0

Match Date: Sunday 31st August 2025

Liverpool Scorers: 

• Dominik Szoboszlai (83')

Armchair Match Report:

The buildup to this match and particularly on the social media spaces was very intense and it seemed like most Arsenal fans and pundits on social media for some inexplicable reason felt Liverpool were their for the taking given their performances in the last 2 games against Bournmouth, and Newcastle where they allowed those teams to come back into their respective games after Liverpool had taken a 2 goal lead in both.  Everyone and their family seemed to be convinced that Liverpool was weak at the back - both Konate and the new left back Kerkez were showing signs of struggle and the midfield seemed like it was disorganized with no co-ordination and plenty of misplaced passing.  The record signing Wirtz along with Salah had both had underwhelming performances to date (although Salah had 2GA already to his name).

Liverpool had setup just as they did against Newcastle, Szoboszlai was again at right back where he seemed to thrive against Newcastle.  This time Alexis Mac Allister was in midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberch to form the expected double pivot which sadly for Curtis Jones meant he had to hold bench.

But the biggest surprise was really for all Arsenal fans...they decided to have Zubimendi, Merino, and Rice in midfield.  If ever a manager had PTSD, then Arteta is that man.  By setting up with effectively 3 players that can be considered 6's and 8's, was an indicator that Arsenal were never going to go for Liverpools jugular.  Their new creative signing Eberechi Eze and their captain Martin Odegaard were both on the bench.  To compound and underline what has become Arteta's defensive nature, Saliba went down with an injury within the first 7 minutes of the game, something that Arteta must have known about during the warmup as he seemed unsurprised and immediately bought on his new young Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera (who had a very good game - why did Liverpool not enquire about him in the summer ?) to replace Saliba.

The match turned out like one would expect, it was a cagy affair with neither side having midfield dominance, and Liverpool unable to break through the nearly two lines of defence that Arsenal had setup with and still looking like a team which is still trying to work out a way to play with their new 100M signing in Wirtz, who again looks like a man trying to find his place in a Liverpool team.  It was an uneventful first half with Martinelli unable to get past the diligent Szoboszlai, who again was having a good game right back.  On the Liverpool left side, Muduake (the signing that most Arsenal fans did not want) was having more luck and proving to be a nuisance to Kerkez by making deep fast runs into the Liverpool final third, but despite this problem Kerkez was managing the situation in his aggressive but better controlled style than what he displayed at Newcastle.  It has to be said that in midfield Mac Allister was not having the best game, but it seems to be a normal habit for him against Arsenal, in terms of being pressed hard and unable to retain the ball or find his passing range. He did not appear ro be match fit and at times Liverpool were playing like they had 10 men.  

Despite Arsenal's better dominance of the first half, there were no clear cut chances for Gykororez their striker who was being well marshalled by Ibrahima Konate and having a better game than his last two.  That said the best chance of the half fell to Liverpool, when Virgil Van Dyke found himself with a ball from Raya's misplaced pass at only 22 yards out from goal with no defender in site, but rather than take a touch and shoot Virgil wanted to hold on run and pass but Arsenal recovered just in time, it was a golden opportunity and the frustration on Slots face was apparent to all.

The 2nd half started in much the same way, but Liverpool decided to speed up the passing and take more risks as Szoboszlai started to invert more into midfield. The movement was better and the passing was finding Wirtz, there were now passages of play that looked promising enough that Liverpool would score first, and in indeed they did through Ekitike - but it was sadly ruled offside.  This improved period of play seemed to start when Alexis Mac Allister was taken off and on came Curtis Jones, and it was quite evident that he has a better understanding of how to involve Wirtz more in the game.  It was no surprise that then when Jones was involved in the play that led to him getting fouled by Zubemendi after a wonderful turn, to win a free kick that was fairly central to the Arsenal goal about 32 yards out.  Then the moment came for Domonic Szoboszlai to step up and take the free kick.  Now there are youtube clips of Szoboszlai scoring from this range for his national team, but wouldn't it be nice if for once he could do it for Liverpool ? - well that is exactly what finally happened, and credit to the Arsenal goalkeeper who managed to get a fingertip on it as it went into the goal.  Anfield erupted with joy, and this was the icing on the cake for Szoboszlai who would have been MOM anyway.  Liverpool had left winning the game in the last 10 minutes yet again, will there ever be an end to Slot getting it right in the second of games only ? - seems to be a habit.

The remainder of the game after the goal, was Arsenal trying to win the game, through their substitutions where Arteta finally bought on his creative talent in Eze, Odegaard, and the 15 year old Max Dowman (who Kerkez handled with ease).  In the meantime we witnessed Konate having to be taken off and replaced by Joe Gomez (luckily as it turned out Konate only had cramp).  There was a moment when Eze threatened to score by dribbling his way through the left of the penalty area, but Gomez with experience did a light touch push which put Eze of his stride.  The experience of Gomez was present for all to see, as no penalty resulted from the incident and overall he had a brilliant game when he came on.  There were also counter-attacking moments when Chiesa (yes he was bought on in the final minutes) could have scored but Arsenal's defense dealt with the situation.

The win was a statement for Liverpool, again you could argue they played poorly but still managed to win, there is much room for improvement, Muhammad Salah was virtually non-existent in this game and was somewhat isolated.  But the entire Liverpool attack seemed to be well handled by the Arsenal defense and midfield.  That said, a win for Arsenal would have given them the confidence they need to march on and do well, so the impact of a loss will no doubt do damage to their confidence and I am sure they will be feeling worse after the following day announcement that Alexander Isak had formerly signed from Newcastle !!!  

It is hard to understand why Arsenal setup the way they did when the emphasis in the media was about them having to finally beat Liverpool at Anfield; right from the word go it seemed they were playing for the set-pieces as Declan Rice kicked the ball out of play towards the Liverpool left corner, someone needs to remind Arteta that Stoke City never won a league playing this style.  They had so many corners in the first half to Liverpool's zero corners - what people think about them as Set Piece FC - is a reality rather than a false narrative, but they were up against to of the best defenders in Konate and Virgil when it comes to defensive headers.

I always argue that Arsenal's resurgence as a force in English football began 3 seasons ago when they beat Liverpool in their home tie - the day Diaz was brutally injured by Thomas Partey - as they then went onto lead the premier league table until the moment in March when Saliba was ruled out with injury.  I see this game as a missed opportunity for Arsenal and on social media the cries of Arteta the coward and not good enough still echo.  

A Question of Mentality

It cannot be overstated, but Arteta bought on his star youngster Dawson to at best rescue a point, and doing so when Liverpool were not passing/playing well.  The mentality of Slot is totally different if we look back at Liverpool's last game against Newcastle.  The moment when 16 year old Rio was bought on, Liverpool were likely to lose the game such was the pressure but Slot bought on both Rio and Elliot to retain the ball and WIN the game, a very bold move under the circumstances.  If it was Arteta, then I have no doubt he would have bought on all his defensive minded players to cover as many positions as possible.