Liverpool made a clear statement of intent as they ran riot against Arsenal putting five goals past their visitors from London.
The Anfield faithful got what they wanted within a minute as the Reds took the lead. When Per Mertesacker fouled Luis Suarez down the left, Steven Gerrard’s curling free kick was guided in by Martin Skrtel. Skrtel made it two on 10 minutes when he guided a header into the top corner from Gerrard’s corner. Daniel Sturridge had the chance to make it three but chipped an effort wide. Suarez then hit the upright with a thunderous volley which thoroughly deserved a goal. Raheem Sterling made it three on 16 minutes when he tapped in Suarez’s low cross from the right. It was four on 20 minutes when Sturridge got on the end of Philippe Coutinho’s through ball to curl a low effort past Wojciech Szczesny. Liverpool could have been six to seven goals to the good by the break but the score remained unchanged at halftime. Within 7 minutes of the restart, the hosts picked up where they had left off. Sterling collected Kolo Toure’s long ball and at the second time of asking, tapped home his second of the evening. Suarez had another crack at goal but was denied by Szczesny as the keeper palmed over the Uruguayan’s long distance free kick which was destined for the top corner. Mikel Arteta pulled one back from the spot after Gerrard brought down Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and his low free kick was saved by Simon Mignolet. The Gunners have a tough string of matches ahead as they meet Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
