Double Arsenal curse continues as Liverpool land early title race blow | OneFootball

Another week, another injury; another season, another Anfield frustration

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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Arsenal’s wait for a Premier League win at Anfield goes on.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the game, firing home a free-kick with just seven minutes of normal time remaining.

The victory puts Liverpool top of the Premier League and three points clear of Arsenal. An early blow in the title race has been landed.

Standard Sport takes a look at what we learned from the match at Anfield...

Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Szoboszlai magic makes the difference

Liverpool are used to seeing their right-back curl free-kicks into the top corner and, even though Trent Alexander-Arnold has moved on to pastures new, they were treated to a beauty to win this game.

Szoboszlai must have been at least 35 yards out when he lined up this effort in the dying minutes of the game.

It was a stunning strike, one worthy of winning any game and that David Raya had simply no chance of keeping out.

The goal was a rare moment of quality in an otherwise scrappy game. Neither side created many chances and, instead, Arsenal were able to stifle Liverpool.

In the first half, the Reds failed to muster a shot on target and it felt like the Gunners were on course to get the point they came for.

Szoboszlai’s moment of brilliance changed all that, though, and gives Liverpool an early lead in the title race.

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Injury woes strike again

Another week, another injury concern for Arteta.

This game was just five minutes old when William Saliba went down after challenging with Hugo Ekitike for a header.

It seemed an innocuous moment, but Saliba went down and was immediately holding his left ankle and foot.

The Frenchman had to come off and he headed straight down the tunnel at Anfield for treatment.

It is the latest injury Arsenal have suffered in the opening three weeks of the season, with five players absent for this trip to Merseyside.

Ben White and Christian Norgaard have slight muscles issues, while Bukayo Saka (hamstring) and Kai Havertz (knee) will be out for a few weeks. Gabriel Jesus is still recovering from knee surgery in January.

Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard both made the squad, however they were not fit enough to start.

Arsenal will be hoping it is good news with Saliba, and Mikel Arteta suggested it was after the game, who has been a cornerstone of their defence for the past three seasons.

REUTERS

Mosquera rises to the occasion

Losing Saliba after just five minutes could have derailed Arsenal, but Cristhian Mosquera did well after being thrown into a huge game.

The 21-year-old helped steady the ship for the Gunners and slotted in seamlessly alongside Gabriel in the heart of Arsenal’s defence.

It was one of the positives for Mikel Arteta on an otherwise disappointing afternoon - and underlined the strength in depth Arsenal now have in their defence.

Mosquera made nine defensive contributions, with Declan Rice - who was excellent - the only Arsenal player to beat that tally.

Mosquera’s performance bodes well for the future and will give Arteta confidence that he now has genuine cover for Saliba.

The Frenchman has had to play nearly more minutes than anyone else in the Arsenal squad over the past few seasons.

Now, at least, it would appear that Arteta has option to come into the team if he wants to rest Saliba.