It is time to believe the hype. Arsenal needed to take the scalp of an age‑old nemesis to fully assert their credentials and they answered every question posed by a Liverpool side that, according to a growing body of evidence, face a lengthy period of transition.
This was a see-sawing, utterly engaging match but Mikel Arteta’s players were ultimately better in every department, performing with clarity and a rattling intensity while their opponents relied on flashes and moments. Arsenal were pegged back by two such occurrences but never wavered or deviated: these days belief radiates from the Emirates Stadium pitch and pulsates around the stands, proving fully justified when Bukayo Saka converted a penalty for which there was finally no answer.
