Former English champions, Liverpool brought Arsenal’s three-month unbeaten run to an end with a 4-0 thrashing of the Gunners at Anfield on Saturday to ease up to second in the Premier League.
The Reds’ front three of Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah were all on target before substitute Takumi Minamino set the seal on a return to form for Jurgen Klopp’s men after losing for the first time in 26 games in their last outing at West Ham.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the victory has now lifted the Reds to within four points of leaders Chelsea.
Klopp was at the centre of a heated argument with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta that woke Liverpool from their slumber of the opening half-hour.
Visibly riled by the Spaniard, Klopp conducted the Anfield crowd with delight once Mane opened the floodgates six minutes before half-time.
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Arsenal’s 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions has hauled them to within three points of the top four.
But they had not faced a side in the top seven of the table in that sequence and suffered another lesson on how far they still have to go to compete with the Premier League’s elite after heavy defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City earlier in the campaign.
Arsenal were breached in soft fashion when Mane headed home unmarked from Alexander Arnold’s free-kick.
Liverpool then started the second period with the urgency they lacked in the opening stages as they constantly hounded Arsenal into mistakes deep inside their own half.
Nuno Taveres was the culprit for the killer second goal as his sloppy pass teed up his compatriot Jota, who coolly left Ben White and Ramsdale on the floor before tapping into an empty net.
Liverpool went on to strike twice in four minutes at their counter-attacking best.
Jota’s flick freed Mane down the left and his cross was tapped home by Salah for his 16th goal in as many games this season.
Salah was involved again for the fourth goal as he teed up Alexander-Arnold to fire in a low cross that only required a simple tap-in from Minamino.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK