If Liverpool are to successfully defend their Premier League title, they will look back on the moment when Dominik Szoboszlai sank Arsenal with a late and sensational free-kick as a foundation stone. There had been little between these rivals, the only clubs that maintained 100% records at kick-off time; pragmatism holding sway for long spells. Or maybe it was the fear of defeat.
Would Arsenal have taken another Anfield draw beforehand? The answer was probably yes and it appeared that Mikel Arteta had placed the emphasis on being difficult to beat, first and foremost, with his line-up. He would use his new signing, Eberechi Eze, only as a 70th minute substitute.
In the end, Arteta got nothing and it was because of what Szoboszlai produced with seven minutes of regulation time remaining. The free-kick was 30 yards out but he made light of the distance with a stunning execution, the technique generating vicious dip and fade – and leaving David Raya clutching at thin air. Could the Arsenal goalkeeper have got across more effectively? What was plain was that Szoboszlai also brought precision to the party, the ball placed perfectly inside Raya’s right-hand post.
Lads, it’s August. And yet it was easy to see this as a marker from Liverpool; a declaration of their intent. And this is before they make their final moves in a blockbuster transfer window, which could see them add Alexander Isak and Marc Guéhi and push their spending towards £500m.
