Arsenal fell to their first defeat of the season at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool, courtesy of a stunning free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai seven minutes from time.
Despite battling hard and impressing in patches, Mikel Arteta’s side were ultimately unable to find the back of the net, nor were they able to cause the home team serious issues at any point.
The Spaniard’s outfit now sit three points behind their title rivals, having played three league matches.
Arne Slot aims subtle dig at Arsenal after match at Anfield
It was a mixed day for some of Arsenal’s new signings.
Noni Madueke was impressive throughout, posing a threat off the right-hand side with his pace and direct running.
Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres struggled to make an impact, managing just 17 touches in 90 minutes, while Martin Zubimendi conceded the foul that led to Szoboszlai’s winner.
Ultimately, it was the Gunners’ younger recruits in Cristhian Mosquera and Madueke who caught the eye, with their more senior acquisitions faltering.
This may have prompted Arne Slot to issue a subtle dig at Arsenal and their recruitment after the game.
The Dutch manager was asked about his own team’s approach to the transfer window, and he seemingly slyly criticised the North Londoners’ decision to sign players already in their prime.
“It’s very positive that we haven’t brought in 27, 28, 29-year-olds that are already, like Luis Diaz, in the prime of their career, if you want to call it,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We bring in very promising, very talented, very good players, but they will need time to adapt to the Premier League, and then already having nine points is very positive.”
Arsenal were right to bring in senior players this summer
While Liverpool were justified in lowering their age profile by acquiring young players this summer, as they needed to bring down their average age, this wouldn’t have been the correct approach for Arsenal to take.
The Gunners are still a young team and became even younger after losing senior players such as Jorginho and Thomas Partey.
Thus, they needed to recruit some players in their prime to add more experience to their inexperienced group.
Arsenal are also now in their winning window; they need players who can make an instant impact, instead of development or project players.
That’s why they ultimately opted for Gyokeres over Benjamin Sesko, and this is a more than justifiable decision to make.
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