Liverpool 3 Arsenal 1: Emre Can lucky to be on the field, Gunners missed Alexis Sanchez’s presence whilst their midfield were overran AGAIN
Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum all got on the scoresheet, whilst Danny Welbeck scored for the visitors
LIVERPOOL put in a stellar display to see off Arsenal at Anfield after Arsene Wenger chose to drop Alexis Sanchez.
Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane gave Liverpool the lead at half time and despite Danny Welbeck clawing one back for Arsenal, Georginio Wijnaldum sealed all three points for the Reds.
Emre Can lucky not to see red
The German international was walking a tight rope in the second half, after a number of bookable offences.
The first incident was when he blocked off Alexis Sanchez and despite having the option to give advantage, referee Robert Madley blew his whistle and did not brandish a card.
The 23-year-old then recieved a yellow card after taking out Sanchez again.
And then less than ten minutes later, Can remained on the field, despite munching Theo Walcott with Joel Matip, with the latter luckily picking up the caution.
Arsenal looked lost on the front foot without Sanchez
It came as a huge shock to Gunners fans when they saw that Alexis Sanchez had been dropped to the bench by Arsene Wenger.
His presence in the final third was clear to see in the first half, because not only were Liverpool dominant, but Wenger's side had no purpose when attacking.
They mustered just ONE shot on target before the Chilean took to the field.
Not only does the 28-year-old offer a goal-scoring threat, but his inspiring work rate also sees him defend from the front.
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Arsene Wenger still has no solution to ponderous midfield
Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin were chasing shadows at Anfield, exposing their back four to Liverpool's fluid attack.
The two supposedly defence-minded midfielders offered no protection to Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal.
The French tactician has tinkered with numerous players in front of his defence with Mohammed Elneny also failing to prove his worth.
Sadio Mane back to his rampant best
The Senegal international had the beating of Monreal all evening and was constantly a threat for Liverpool.
Sadio Mane did not only provide the assist for Roberto Firmino but he also notched the second goal for the Reds five minutes before the interval.
The forward's tireless work rate provided an outlet throughout the match for Klopp's side who had to cope with Arsenal's pressure as they pulled a goal back.
Ragnar Klavan proves to be a stronger option over Lucas
Klopp was left red faced after he chose to play Lucas at centre back ahead of Ragnar Klavan.
With Jamie Vardy punishing Lucas' lack of pace, the German boss opted to play the natural centre back and it proved to unsurprisingly be the right decision.
Liverpool looked to be a more of a defensive unit, as Arsenal struggled to break them down at Anfield.
He slotted into the defence alongside Joel Matip, Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner.
