For the majority of Liverpool's game with Arsenal, it appeared that both sides were headed for a draw.
Until the 83rd minute, the game looked set to be a stalemate.
Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up with a wonder free kick, beating David Raya from 32 yards to send the home crowd wild.
The result puts Liverpool top of the Premier League, three points ahead of Arsenal and five clear of Manchester City who lost to Brighton and Hove Albion yesterday.
Here’s four things we learnt from Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Arsenal.
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Florian Wirtz shows signs of life
It has been a difficult start to life on Merseyside for midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Wirtz signed from Bayer Leverkusen this summer for a club record fee of £100 million, also becoming the sixth most expensive transfer of all time.
He had yet to have any success whilst donning the famous number seven shirt.
In wins against AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United, Wirtz’ impact was very minimal.
However, in yesterday’s win, Wirtz showed the Liverpool fans just what he can do.
Whilst he did not grab a goal or assist, his second half performance should offer encouragement to the club’s board who spent so much money on the German international.
Wirtz is still in want of a performance worthy of such an expensive price tag, but he had brief spells in yesterday’s win where he showcased his talent.
He was hauled off due to injury, but this has been put down to nothing more than cramp by Liverpool manager Arne Slot. With an international break to follow, Wirtz will have a chance to further improve in their next game against Burnley.
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Dominik Szoboszlai cannot be dropped
Right now, Szoboszlai is undroppable.
He saw major improvement on the pitch last season, with his energy very clear to see.
With the aforementioned signing of Wirtz, as well as forward Hugo Ekitike, there was doubt over whether Szoboszlai would start for the club this season.
An injury suffered by summer signing Jeremie Frimpong saw Szoboszlai fill in at the right-back position against Newcastle with Conor Bradley still recovering from his own injury set back.
Szoboszlai earned a lot of praise for his performance in the dramatic win at St. James’ Park. His performance in yesterday’s win has seen him earn further plaudits.
It was a performance that served up a stark contrast with former Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Szoboszlai was able to advertise his passing range and his free kick taking ability, once the role of Trent at the club, was arguably the best free kick seen at Anfield since John Arne Riise’s thunderstrike against Manchester United in the early 2000’s and might even be better.
The contrast in performances so far this season from Szoboszlai and Wirtz has put in the question as to what happens when everyone is fit at the club.
It is hard to see Wirtz dropped given the money spent on him this summer, and Alexis MacAllister and Ryan Gravenberch are way too important not to start week in and week out.
Bradley’s injury record and Frimpong’s defensive frailties, means that Szoboszlai could be set for a long spell at right-back.
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Milos Kerkez shows Anfield crowd what he can do
It was a difficult start to life at Liverpool for left-back Milos Kerkez.
He was largely at fault for Newcastle’s first goal last week and was bullied by Antoine Semenyo all game in their opening fixture.
Noni Madueke gave Kerkez some initial problems, but the Hungary international saw a rapid improvement in the second half.
He passed every challenge that was presented to him, recovered back really well and was strong in the tackle.
There was even a stage in the game after the Szoboszlai goal, where Kerkez was able to show what he can do going forward, setting up a brilliant pass to Federico Chiesa near the penalty box. There were shades of Andy Robertson in his performance.
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Liverpool need Marc Guehi
Centre-back Ibrahima Konaté had his best game of the season after struggling against Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Despite this, the French international departed the game through injury, a common theme throughout his time at Liverpool.
With a defensive group that is already thin, the addition of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi could not come soon enough for Liverpool fans.
