It is starting to look as if there is only one dilemma left for Liverpool[1] to wrestle with as their pursuit of Alexander Isak heads down to the wire.
After the champions edged past Arsenal[2] at Anfield courtesy of a stunning free-kick winner from Dominik Szoboszlai, the question that faces them, and the rest of the Premier League[3], is this.
How many points do they want to win the title by?
If they finally prise Isak away from Newcastle on Monday, then the odds are that they will win the league at a canter, just as they did last year.
If Newcastle’s Saudi owners dig their heels in and resist the lure of a £120m transfer fee, then Liverpool will probably win the title anyway.
We have got to the stage where the most expensive transfer in Premier League history would be an insurance payment. It is starting to look as if there is only one dilemma left for Liverpool to wrestle with as their pursuit of Alexander Isak heads down to the wire.
Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Arsenal on Sunday
Szoboszlai broke the deadlock with a brilliant free-kick in the 83rd minute of the game
The Hungarian’s moment of magic proved to be the difference between the title rivals
Liverpool
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Arsenal
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If there is a nagging concern about Liverpool’s title credentials, it is that they are slightly short in attack given the sale of Darwin Nunez to Al-Hilal and the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
They still boast one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history in Mo Salah and their new acquisition, Hugo Ekitike, has settled in well.
Isak to Liverpool would be about as close as you can get to a guarantee of winning the title again – by a similar margin to the 10 points Liverpool won it by last season.
Arne Slot’s side have now won their first three games, two of which have been against outfits that finished in the top five last season. The other, Bournemouth, demolished Spurs on Saturday.
Liverpool haven’t even been at their best yet, either. Far from it, in fact. They were outplayed by Arsenal for much of this match and yet still they found a way to triumph.
Ominously for the rest, this victory over the team that is likely to be their closest challengers provided the first hints that Florian Wirtz, their record signing, is starting to adapt to the English game.
Some of Liverpool’s early season uncertainties were banished by the return of Alexis Mac Allister to the heart of the side and by the end, they were signs of the irresistibility that characterised much of their play last season.
So forget the idea that the recruitment of Isak might destabilise them. Isak is too good a player and Slot too good a manager for that to be an issue.
Eberechi Eze came on to make his debut in the second half but couldn’t make an impact
Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a heavy blow in their bid to end their long wait for a league title
If Isak signs for Liverpool on Monday, the rest of the league should be afraid. If he doesn’t sign, they will know that Slot’s team should be good enough to hold off the rest anyway.
It was not that Arsenal played badly but it was also hard not to feel that they were partly undone by the caution of their manager, Mikel Arteta, who left Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri out of a starting line-up that was already lacking the injured Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.
Liverpool could have been vulnerable in this clash while they still try to assimilate their new signings. Arsenal have the squad to exploit any weakness in any opponent. Instead, they missed their chance.
Even after three games, it appears that Manchester City and Newcastle will be lesser threats and, even if Chelsea are stronger, it may be one of two seasons too early for them to fashion a realistic title challenge.
In that context, Liverpool signing Isak feels like a luxury purchase. It’s that insurance policy we mentioned. It’s the buy that says ‘Catch us if you can.’
It was ironic that if either side looked as if they needed a new £120m striker, it was Arsenal. They have just spent £63m on Viktor Gyokeres but Gyokeres was close to anonymous at Anfield. It is too early to judge him but at the moment, he is clearly struggling to cope with the step up in class.
Arsenal’s two best players, Saka and Odegaard, were both missing from their starting line-up through injury but instead of drafting in new signing Eze, Arteta picked Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli to replace them.
It was a conservative selection that frustrated many Arsenal supporters. It was not just Eze’s omission, either. The obvious, creative replacement for Odegaard, who was on the bench, was Ethan Nwaneri but Arteta went for the safer, more experienced option in Merino.
Noni Madueke looked lively but Arsenal failed to cause Liverpool too many problems
Liverpool had the ball in the net earlier on but striker Hugo Ekitike (right) was offside
Arsenal suffered another injury blow inside the first five minutes when William Saliba winced in pain after a challenge with Ekitike and then sat down heavily on the turf and waited for play to be stopped. He was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera.
For all the disruption they had to cope with, Arsenal were the stronger, more impressive side in the first half. They dominated midfield, with Ricardo Calafiori dropping in alongside Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, who were both effortlessly authoritative.
The opening 45 minutes asked fresh questions of Florian Wirtz, Liverpool’s record signing. Wirtz is still struggling to adapt to the pace of the English game. He was peripheral at Newcastle on Monday evening and he struggled to make an impact against Arsenal until after the interval.
Arsenal caused Liverpool’s backfour plenty of problems. Noni Madueke’s pace troubled Milos Kerkez, who just about kept him at bay with two saving tackles. Midway through the half, Alisson flung himself to his right to keep out a Madueke volley from the edge of the box.
The only time Arsenal were discomforted was when they caused themselves problems. They were lucky to escape when David Raya played a short pass straight to Virgil van Dijk about 30 yards out. Van Dijk might have shot but tried to play in Mac Allister and Rice threw himself into the block.
Liverpool began to take more control of the game after the break and just before the hour, they had the ball in the net. Wirtz controlled Mac Allister’s sharp pass beautifully in the box, spun and lashed a half-volley at Raya. Raya could not hold it and Ekitike forced in the rebound but he had strayed offside.
Eze and Odegaard came on 20 minutes from the end but Liverpool immediately fashioned their best chance of the game. Szoboszlai drilled a superb 50 yard pass out to Wirtz on the left and Wirtz cut inside and played the ball to Salah. Salah, unusually, delayed a second too long before striking his shot and it was blocked.
Szoboszlai was many people’s man-of-the-match in Liverpool’s win at Newcastle in his role as auxiliary right-back and he was outstanding again. He capped his performance with the winner eight minutes from the end of normal time.
Mo Salah and co were kept quiet by the Arsenal defence but ultimately claimed the three points
Arne Slot made it three wins from three as the champions returned to the top of the table
Zubimendi was booked for dragging down Curtis Jones 30 yards out and Szoboszlai demanded the free kick. He hit it sweetly, arrowing it over the wall, past the despairing dive of Raya and in off the post.
The last time Arsenal won a league game at Anfield was 2012, when Mikel Arteta was in the Arsenal team. The wait goes on.