Arne Slot hails Dominik Szoboszlai brilliance for Liverpool in Arsenal win

Szoboszlai produced the decisive moment seven minutes from time, curling a dipping effort from 30 yards past Aaron Ramsdale to keep the champions perfect with three wins from three matches.

"He understands what a Liverpool player should be," Slot said. "He tracks back, he presses high and he gave us an unbelievable performance today in a position he has only played a handful of times."

The Hungarian international had already impressed in Monday's win at Newcastle, but his match-winning contribution against a major title rival underlined his growing importance.

Slot called the strike "a magic moment" and pointed to Liverpool's early momentum as evidence of progress. "We have nine points now from fixtures where we only had five last year," he said. "People said we were too open in our first two games, but today we showed discipline and quality."

Arsenal, missing Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, suffered a fresh blow inside five minutes when William Saliba limped off with an ankle injury. Mikel Arteta's team controlled the first half but could not convert pressure into goals.

"We had a game plan to win it," Arteta said. "We forced them to raise their level, and they did. Matches at Anfield often come down to a mistake or a moment of brilliance, and they produced that brilliance."

Liverpool also had a scare late on when record signing Florian Wirtz hobbled off, though Slot confirmed it was only cramp. The Reds continue to push for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak before the transfer deadline, a move that would add further firepower to a squad already showing renewed hunger.

For now, however, the night belonged to Szoboszlai, whose adaptation under Slot has been one of the stories of the season's early weeks.

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