Liverpool ended Arsenal’s 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions with a devastatingly routine victory at Anfield.
Sadio Mane grabbed the opener when he headed in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick in the first half.
Diogo Jota took advantage of a Nuno Tavares mistake to roll into an empty net before Mohamed Salah slotted home a Mane cross for the third.
Right-back Alexander-Arnold was the provider again when he teed up Japanese substitute Takumi Minamino to make it 4-0 with his first touch, just 48 seconds after coming on.
Victory for Liverpool sees them jump up to second in the Premier League, while Arsenal remain in fifth.
It was a tame affair between the two long-standing rivals for most of the game but Liverpool showed their quality with a ruthless second-half display.
Jurgen Klopp’s side controlled possession before the break and had the best chances – Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Thiago were all denied by Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale was kept busy throughout and reacted well to stop Mane scrambling it in off the floor and made a decent save to prevent a second goal from Jota later on.
Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka were a threat on the counter-attack but Alisson was comfortable when he was called into action and centre-back pairing Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip were solid for Liverpool.
Despite the four goals, it was rarely a contest which burst into life, though a touchline scrap between managers Klopp and Mikel Arteta ignited a reaction from the crowd in the first half.
Comfortable evening for Liverpool
Liverpool went into the match knowing victory would see them move up to second place after West Ham were beaten at Wolves.
Arsenal, who have been in good form and were just two points behind Liverpool prior to kick-off, were limited to few chances at Anfield.
On the occasions when Saka and Aubameyang were able to get in behind Liverpool’s defence, it was often in wide areas and Fabinho provided an impressive shield in midfield to hold off further danger.
Liverpool lacked intensity in the first half but got the opener through Mane, making use of the ever-reliable delivery of Alexander-Arnold.
That provided them with a platform in the second half and once Jota made it 2-0, the spaces opened up for Liverpool to exploit Arsenal, who had no choice but to push players forward.
Recent battles between the two have proven more dramatic but this was as comfortable as Liverpool could have hoped for and reaffirmed their title challenge.
Player of the match
Mohamed SalahMohamed Salah
Liverpool
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Squad number11Player nameMohamed SalahAverage rating
8.21
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Squad number10Player nameManéAverage rating
8.18
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Squad number20Player nameDiogo JotaAverage rating
8.16
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Squad number66Player nameAlexander-ArnoldAverage rating
8.12
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Squad number18Player nameMinaminoAverage rating
7.93
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Squad number3Player nameFabinhoAverage rating
7.85
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Squad number4Player namevan DijkAverage rating
7.84
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Squad number15Player nameOxlade-ChamberlainAverage rating
7.66
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Squad number6Player nameThiago AlcántaraAverage rating
7.60
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Squad number14Player nameHendersonAverage rating
7.53
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Squad number32Player nameMatipAverage rating
7.51
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Squad number1Player nameAlissonAverage rating
7.45
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Squad number21Player nameTsimikasAverage rating
7.45
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Squad number80Player nameMortonAverage rating
7.44
Arsenal
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Squad number32Player nameRamsdaleAverage rating
7.08
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Squad number7Player nameSakaAverage rating
5.27
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Squad number18Player nameTomiyasuAverage rating
5.19
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Squad number10Player nameSmith RoweAverage rating
5.18
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Squad number4Player nameWhiteAverage rating
5.07
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Squad number6Player nameGabriel MagalhãesAverage rating
5.00
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Squad number9Player nameLacazetteAverage rating
4.93
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Squad number5Player nameParteyAverage rating
4.75
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Squad number14Player nameAubameyangAverage rating
4.59
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Squad number23Player nameSambi LokongaAverage rating
4.49
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Squad number20Player nameNuno TavaresAverage rating
4.20
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Squad number8Player nameØdegaardAverage rating
3.80
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Squad number25Player nameMohamed ElnenyAverage rating
3.73
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Squad number15Player nameMaitland-NilesAverage rating
3.69
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-Arnold
- 32Matip
- 4van Dijk
- 21Tsimikas
- 15Oxlade-ChamberlainSubstituted forHendersonat 76′minutes
- 3FabinhoBooked at 70mins
- 6Thiago AlcántaraSubstituted forMortonat 84′minutes
- 11Salah
- 20JotaSubstituted forMinaminoat 76′minutes
- 10ManéBooked at 44mins
Substitutes
- 5Konaté
- 14Henderson
- 18Minamino
- 47Phillips
- 49Gordon
- 62Kelleher
- 63Beck
- 80Morton
- 84Bradley
Arsenal
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 32Ramsdale
- 18Tomiyasu
- 4White
- 6Gabriel
- 20Varela Tavares
- 7Saka
- 5ParteySubstituted forElnenyat 84′minutes
- 23Sambi LokongaSubstituted forMaitland-Nilesat 53′minutes
- 10Smith Rowe
- 9LacazetteSubstituted forØdegaardat 67′minutes
- 14Aubameyang
Substitutes
- 1Leno
- 3Tierney
- 8Ødegaard
- 15Maitland-Niles
- 16Holding
- 17Cédric Soares
- 19Pépé
- 25Elneny
- 35Martinelli
- Referee:
- Michael Oliver
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Liverpool 4, Arsenal 0.
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Second Half ends, Liverpool 4, Arsenal 0.
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Konstantinos Tsimikas (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
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Substitution, Liverpool. Tyler Morton replaces Thiago.
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Substitution, Arsenal. Mohamed Elneny replaces Thomas Partey.
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Offside, Arsenal. Thomas Partey tries a through ball, but Bukayo Saka is caught offside.
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Goal! Liverpool 4, Arsenal 0. Takumi Minamino (Liverpool) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Jordan Henderson replaces Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Takumi Minamino replaces Diogo Jota.
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Offside, Arsenal. Benjamin White tries a through ball, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is caught offside.
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Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Alisson.
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Attempt saved. Thomas Partey (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Nuno Tavares.
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Goal! Liverpool 3, Arsenal 0. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sadio Mané.
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Offside, Arsenal. Martin Ødegaard tries a through ball, but Bukayo Saka is caught offside.
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Offside, Arsenal. Takehiro Tomiyasu tries a through ball, but Martin Ødegaard is caught offside.
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Foul by Diogo Jota (Liverpool).
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Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Fabinho (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Fabinho (Liverpool).