Arsenal's winning start to the Premier League season was halted on Monday night as Liverpool deservedly ran out 3-1 winners at Anfield.
Goals from Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and new signing Diogo Jota sealed an impressive victory for Jurgen Klopp's side, and made it three wins from three for the reigning champions.
The Gunners had briefly given themselves hope of getting an unlikely result after Alexandre Lacazette capitalised on a Robertson mistake to scuff past Alisson for the opening goal.
But Liverpool fired back almost immediately as Bernd Leno could only parry Mohamed Salah's shot straight into Mane's path and the Senegal forward tapped into an empty net.
Robertson then made amends for his earlier mistake by clipping a cute finish over Leno after receiving a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Mikel Arteta made changes for the second half and an improved Arsenal spurned a huge opportunity to get at least a point when Lacazette missed a glorious chance to equalise.
Dani Ceballos sent the France striker one-on-one with Alisson, but the former Lyon forward could only fire straight at the Reds goalkeeper.
After watching a clip of the chance on social media, eagle-eyed Arsenal supporters noticed that referee Craig Pawson appeared to throw his arms up in disappointment after Lacazette missed.
One fan tweeted: "Look at the ref's reaction man," whilst another posted: "Even my man fed up with Lacazette finishing skills."
Speaking after the game, Arsenal boss Arteta admitted that Liverpool's quality ensured the match was a step too far for his side.
“We are on a different journey to them,” he said. “They have been together for five years.
“They weren’t able to do what they have done tonight two or three years ago, that’s for sure.
“They have done a lot of good work. They have a lot of belief in the way they play, they have had great recruitment and have improved the players that they have.
“This is what we have to try to do. They have set the bar, probably the best standard that we have seen in many years.
"We still have a long way to go.”
