[ad_1]
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson were the stars of the show when the Reds put on a performance worthy of their champion status.
That is why they are champions.
While their rivals falter, Liverpool continues to advance.
After Manchester City’s slip and Chelsea stumble, as Manchester United struggles with themselves and Tottenham forge ahead in their loveless marriage, Jurgen Klopp’s men are back on track.
Unstoppable? They seem like it, even three games in the season.
Arsenal were the last to feel the heat from the Reds. The Gunners may be a much more organized and pragmatic team under Mikel Arteta, but they had no response to Liverpool’s relentless intensity.
No supporters, but Anfield is still a stronghold; the hardest place in the world to play.
If last week’s victory at Stamford Bridge was a message to the rest of the division, this was an even more emphatic statement. This was a great team that showed their muscles, going over their entire repertoire at a time when the world is looking for, or perhaps expecting, signs of weakness.
They didn’t even need their shiny new superstar for this one. Thiago Alcantara was not involved, and could be absent until after the international break according to Klopp with what the club describes as “a minor injury”. Without the Spain international, Liverpool were as cohesive and motivated as ever.
And in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, they had the key figures of the game.
The Reds’ full-backs combined for what turned out to be the decisive goal. Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders would have been purring when an Alexander-Arnold cross from the right found Robertson, who appeared at the back post to tap and shove Bernd Leno.
From winger to winger, says Lijnders, he is “the dream target” for this team.
In truth, it is difficult to keep calling these two sides. They are much more than that for Liverpool. Creative hubs, providers of infinite amplitude and precision, unlimited power packs, from the first beep to the last.
Robertson has scored or assisted in seven of his last eight Premier League appearances, scoring two and providing five assists. Since his Liverpool debut on August 27, he has been involved in more goals than any other defender with 33. Second on the list, of course, is Alexander-Arnold.
They are a duo, English and Scottish. You can try, but you won’t keep them quiet. And when they both shine, Liverpool will shine.
Robertson had given Arsenal the lead in the first half, his mistake allowing Alexandre Lacazette to rebound and overtake Alisson Becker against the running of the game.
Arteta’s side had beaten Liverpool in each of their last two encounters, but their lead here lasted just three minutes, with Sadio Mane in hand to play at home after a great job from the spirited Mohamed Salah.
Alexander-Arnold had already notified his threat from the right when he was given time to lift his head and deliver once more. Robertson, on the blind side of Arsenal’s defense, did the rest with admirable composure for 2-1.
Liverpool could and should have extended that lead, but were indebted to Alisson for a great save by Lacazette in the second half.
Substitute Diogo Jota arrived to score the points, the £ 45 million man clinically shot home on his home debut after Arsenal failed to clear a Guess Who cross Alexander-Arnold from the right.
Nine points out of nine, then, for Liverpool. Did you think they would lose their hunger, their desire, after climbing the mountain last year?
No possibility. Not this team, not this manager.
The fire is burning at Anfield as brightly as ever, and with Robertson and Alexander-Arnold in this kind of form, it will be difficult to put it out.
