Premier League winners and losers: Lethal Liverpool, Hammers get hammered

Winner: Attacking soccer

Too often in the Premier League, viewers are subjected to dull, defensive bunkering matches because of the breadth of skill between the two clubs. If, say, West Brom are facing Manchester United, the only attacking moves that match will produce would be from United. West Brom could counter here or there, but most of the game will be played inside their half, bunkering defensively. That makes for a quite tedious affair.

The polar opposite happened in the Liverpool vs. Arsenal contest. Neither club is known for their defensive prowess, and that made for an entertaining match to watch, especially if you support the home side. Liverpool play that way just about every time they step onto the pitch, but you could’ve forgiven them if they dialed it back a notch against the Gunners. Jurgen Klopp scoffs at the notion.

The first attacking move started with the second kick of the game. Arsenal launched a long ball towards Hector Bellerin’s head that, much like the rest of their gameplan, did not go well. Liverpool constantly put the opposition under pressure with their press, and threw men forward when they took the ball away. Arsenal attempted their own open, ever-shifting attacking moves, but found it difficult to penetrate the Red’s defense. It allowed Liverpool to play exactly how they wanted, and they eviscerated Arsene Wenger’s team.

Arsenal were dreadful defensively, but that’s almost a given. A back three, back four, back 10, it wouldn’t matter at this point. Major changes need to be made, starting with the manager, who signed a two-year deal in the offseason. The less said about that the better, and the focus should be on Liverpool. Their performance was dazzling. It’s a sight to behold when they’re in form.