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Liverpool ended Arsenal's 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions with a devastatingly routine victory at Anfield.
Sadio Mane grabbed the opener when he headed in Trent Alexander-Arnold's free-kick in the first half.
Diogo Jota took advantage of a Nuno Tavares mistake to roll into an empty net before Mohamed Salah slotted home a Mane cross for the third.
Right-back Alexander-Arnold was the provider again when he teed up Japanese substitute Takumi Minamino to make it 4-0 with his first touch, just 48 seconds after coming on.
Victory for Liverpool sees them jump up to second in the Premier League, while Arsenal remain in fifth.
It was a tame affair between the two long-standing rivals for most of the game but Liverpool showed their quality with a ruthless second-half display.
Jurgen Klopp's side controlled possession before the break and had the best chances - Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Thiago were all denied by Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale was kept busy throughout and reacted well to stop Mane scrambling it in off the floor and made a decent save to prevent a second goal from Jota later on.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka were a threat on the counter-attack but Alisson was comfortable when he was called into action and centre-back pairing Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip were solid for Liverpool.
Despite the four goals, it was rarely a contest which burst into life, though a touchline scrap between managers Klopp and Mikel Arteta ignited a reaction from the crowd in the first half.
Comfortable evening for Liverpool
Liverpool went into the match knowing victory would see them move up to second place after West Ham were beaten at Wolves.
Arsenal, who have been in good form and were just two points behind Liverpool prior to kick-off, were limited to few chances at Anfield.
On the occasions when Saka and Aubameyang were able to get in behind Liverpool's defence, it was often in wide areas and Fabinho provided an impressive shield in midfield to hold off further danger.
Liverpool lacked intensity in the first half but got the opener through Mane, making use of the ever-reliable delivery of Alexander-Arnold.
That provided them with a platform in the second half and once Jota made it 2-0, the spaces opened up for Liverpool to exploit Arsenal, who had no choice but to push players forward.
Recent battles between the two have proven more dramatic but this was as comfortable as Liverpool could have hoped for and reaffirmed their title challenge.
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Liverpool
Squad number1Player nameAlisson
Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold
Squad number32Player nameMatip
Squad number4Player namevan Dijk
Squad number21Player nameTsimikas
Squad number6Player nameThiago Alcántara
Squad number3Player nameFabinho
Squad number15Player nameOxlade-Chamberlain
Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah
Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota
Squad number10Player nameMané
Squad number14Player nameHenderson
Squad number18Player nameMinamino
Squad number80Player nameMorton
Arsenal
Squad number32Player nameRamsdale
Squad number18Player nameTomiyasu
Squad number4Player nameWhite
Squad number6Player nameGabriel Magalhães
Squad number20Player nameNuno Tavares
Squad number7Player nameSaka
Squad number5Player namePartey
Squad number23Player nameSambi Lokonga
Squad number10Player nameSmith Rowe
Squad number9Player nameLacazette
Squad number14Player nameAubameyang
Squad number8Player nameØdegaard
Squad number15Player nameMaitland-Niles
Squad number25Player nameMohamed Elneny
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-Arnold
- 32Matip
- 4van Dijk
- 21Tsimikas
- 6Thiago AlcántaraSubstituted forMortonat 84'minutes
- 3FabinhoBooked at 70mins
- 15Oxlade-ChamberlainSubstituted forHendersonat 76'minutes
- 11Salah
- 20JotaSubstituted forMinaminoat 76'minutes
- 10ManéBooked at 44mins
Substitutes
- 5Konaté
- 14Henderson
- 18Minamino
- 47Phillips
- 49Gordon
- 62Kelleher
- 63Beck
- 80Morton
- 84Bradley
Arsenal
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 32Ramsdale
- 18Tomiyasu
- 4White
- 6Gabriel
- 20Varela Tavares
- 7Saka
- 5ParteySubstituted forElnenyat 84'minutes
- 23Sambi LokongaSubstituted forMaitland-Nilesat 53'minutes
- 10Smith Rowe
- 9LacazetteSubstituted forØdegaardat 67'minutes
- 14Aubameyang
Substitutes
- 1Leno
- 3Tierney
- 8Ødegaard
- 15Maitland-Niles
- 16Holding
- 17Cédric Soares
- 19Pépé
- 25Elneny
- 35Martinelli
Live Text
Match ends, Liverpool 4, Arsenal 0.
Second Half ends, Liverpool 4, Arsenal 0.
Konstantinos Tsimikas (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
Substitution, Liverpool. Tyler Morton replaces Thiago.
Substitution, Arsenal. Mohamed Elneny replaces Thomas Partey.
Offside, Arsenal. Thomas Partey tries a through ball, but Bukayo Saka is caught offside.
Goal! Liverpool 4, Arsenal 0. Takumi Minamino (Liverpool) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Substitution, Liverpool. Jordan Henderson replaces Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Substitution, Liverpool. Takumi Minamino replaces Diogo Jota.
Offside, Arsenal. Benjamin White tries a through ball, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is caught offside.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Alisson.
Attempt saved. Thomas Partey (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Nuno Tavares.
Goal! Liverpool 3, Arsenal 0. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sadio Mané.
Offside, Arsenal. Martin Ødegaard tries a through ball, but Bukayo Saka is caught offside.
Offside, Arsenal. Takehiro Tomiyasu tries a through ball, but Martin Ødegaard is caught offside.
Foul by Diogo Jota (Liverpool).
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Fabinho (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Fabinho (Liverpool).
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