It is still too early to describe this Arsenal team as title contenders, but if they are to somehow go toe to toe with Manchester City then their brilliant forward line will be the reason why.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli have been in impressive form all season, however they went up a gear yesterday to fire Arsenal to a victory which sent them back to the top of the Premier League.
Saka struck twice, with one coming from a Martinelli cross and the other, which turned out to be the winner, after Jesus had won a penalty when Thiago caught him in the box.
Before all that, Martinelli had opened the scoring inside a minute. Liverpool twice pegged back Arsenal through Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino, but they could not stop the Gunners making it eight wins from their opening nine League games.
Arsenal have achieved that feat just four times in their entire history. It is why there is such a buzz around Emirates Stadium and why belief is growing that something special could be brewing in north London this season.
“We showed real desire, composure, quality and courage to play and win the game the way we won it,” said boss Mikel Arteta. “Physically what we have done, and what the players have produced individually, was phenomenal.”
Arteta is usually an animated character on the touchline, but his reaction at full-time was particularly emotive as he jumped up and punched the air. Part of that delight will be at Arsenal returning to the top of the table. A huge chunk of it, however, will be because the Gunners have had such a miserable record against Liverpool.
This was only the second time they had beaten Liverpool in the Premier League since Jurgen Klopp was appointed, while before yesterday, in their last six games against the Reds, Arsenal had failed to score a goal.
They changed that within 58 seconds, as Martinelli finished off a slick counter-attack. It set the tone for the match and for once a fixture which has previously been dominated by Liverpool’s fine forwards, such as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, causing havoc, was a moment for Arsenal’s attack to take centre stage.
After taking the lead, Arsenal did not control the game as they have so often this season. Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey were starved of possession and instead Thiago ran the show for Liverpool for much of the first half, with Nunez’s finish from Luis Diaz’s cross in the 34th minute no more than the Klopp’s side deserved.
Belief is growing that something special could be brewing at Arsenal this season
Liverpool’s dominance only made the importance of Arsenal’s front-three even greater. Martinelli ran Trent Alexander-Arnold ragged, leaving him and Jordan Henderson trailing for Arsenal’s second goal on the stroke of half-time as he teed up Saka. Alexander-Arnold then went off injured at the break, but Klopp could have justifiably hooked him anyway.
On the other flank, Saka was just as dangerous as Martinelli, and Jesus led the line exceptionally well, even getting an elbow to the face and a bloody nose for his troubles.
The movement from the front-three was too much for Liverpool to handle at times and the Arsenal’s attack looks reborn from last season. The Gunners have already scored three or more goals in six games this season, while Jesus, Martinelli and Saka have 12 League goals and nine assists in nine matches.
Those are numbers produced by teams usually competing right at the top of the table and the way Saka calmly slotted home his penalty underlines Arsenal’s maturity.
“The feeling of winning it’s so powerful and so meaningful for me because I saw a team that I feel I really identify with,” said Arteta.
“The personality they show in difficult moments, how they stick to what they have to do, and at the same time they believe they have the courage and the free mind to just go for it and attack them and put them under pressure.”
There will still be concerns for Arteta and reasons as to why it is hard to call Arsenal title contenders yet. They have not kept a clean sheet in their past 10 Premier League games at home and the defence can look shaky at times, with Diogo Jota opening them up too easily for Firmino’s goal after half-time.
A lack of depth will be a concern too, particularly in midfield where Thomas Partey plays such a specific role. It is the same story in attack, where Jesus, Martinelli and Saka look irreplaceable. Against Liverpool, they were simply unstoppable.
