Arsenal beat Liverpool in thriller as incredible start continues

LONDON — Arsenal beat Liverpool in a five-goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta’s young side went back to the top of the Premier League.

What. A. Game.

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Gabriel Martinelli scored within the first minute and that set the tone for a crazy end-to-end clash as Darwin Nunez made it 1-1 then Bukayo Saka put an out of sorts Arsenal 2-1 up right on half time.

Roberto Firmino made it 2-2 early in the second half but then Saka scored the winner from the penalty spot as a pulsating clash saw Arsenal beat Liverpool for just the second time in their last 15 Premier League clashes against Jurgen Klopp’s side.

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With eight wins from nine to start the season, Arsenal’s fans are dreaming of a title challenge under Mikel Arteta and the raucous atmosphere at the Emirates summed up the confidence flowing through the youngest team in the Premier League.

With the win they go back to the top of the table and have 24 points from a possible 27, as they are now 14 points ahead of Liverpool who have won just two of their first nine games of the season as they continue to labor under Klopp.

Stretched Liverpool go for 2015, early-Klopp vibes: His decision to go back to a 4-2-3-1 formation was supposed to be about defensive solidity. That didn’t work at all at Arsenal. Henderson and Thiago Alcantara were playing 25 yards deeper than the front four of Diaz (who was replaced by Firmino), Jota, Nunez and Salah. There was nothing in-between. When Liverpool got the ball forward early and were direct it worked. When they didn’t they were overrun in midfield and the topsy-turvy nature of this clash reminded me of when Klopp first arrived in 2015 and his high-octane,