Arsenal fell to Liverpool 1–0 in their first loss of the young season at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Just five minutes into the game, Arsenal suffered another injury blow losing William Saliba. Mikel Arteta brought on summer signing Cristhian Mosquera in a big test for the 21-year-old.
Liverpool pressed high to unnerve the young defender supported by a raucous crowd on Merseyside. Arsenal tried to establish a foothold in the game, but lacked cohesion in transition with Mikel Merino starting in place of Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze.
Viktor Gyökeres struggled for service early as well given the midfield selection. Liverpool nearly capitalised off a poor pass out from the back from David Raya which Virgil van Dijk stole off Martín Zubimendi. Though, the Arsenal defence recovered well to deny Alexis Mac Allister. The game plan seemed to be target the Liverpool fullbacks, though Noni Madueke had the better of the half going face-to-face with Milos Kerkez compared to Gabriel Martinelli against the makeshift Szoboszlai.
Both teams went into the tunnel without really getting out of first gear.
Arne Slot and Arteta chose not to make changes at the start of the second half. It took until the 60th minute for the ball to hit the back of the net from Hugo Ekitiké, but the French striker was flagged for offsides in the build-up saving Arsenal.
Liverpool eventually found the opening goal in the 83rd minute after Curtis Jones was fouled in a dangerous area. Szoboszlai stepped up and rifled a brilliant effort up and over the wall off the inside of the left post.
Arsenal picked up the pace after going a goal down, but it was too little too late. Question marks about the team selection will arise. It’s Arsenal’s first loss to a top six side in 23 games as Arteta’s wait for a win at Anfield continues.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Liverpool (4-3-3)
Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Myles Lewis-Skelly, Andre Annous, Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard
Arsenal Player of the Match: Declan Rice
Overall Player of the Match: Dominik Szoboszlai
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo; Hugo Ekitiké
Subs: Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Andrew Robertson, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endō, Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Liverpool: Injury Concerns Grow in 1–0 Loss.
