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JOHN ROWAN (Walton)





A disappointingly low-key summer was matched by a low-key start to the season but things are suddenly looking a lot brighter.



After easing into the Champions League group stage Liverpool blew Arsenal away with as good a display as Anfield has seen in years.

The midfield, particularly Can and Wijnaldum, dominated the game from beginning to end through snuffing out attacks and then instantly putting the opposition on the back foot as Liverpool counter-attacked.





The front three were a constant menace against a team which despite its undoubted problems is still an Arsenal side brimming with talent.



Karius, despite not having to make a save, somehow managed to still look uncomfortable at times.



Emre Can has categorically answered any lingering doubts that anyone may have had. After carrying an injury for much of last season we are now seeing a player in peak condition whose form demands that his services are secured for the next few years.



A Suarez-style compromise of delaying the Barcelona move for 12 months will hopefully be the outcome of the Coutinho saga. If Brendan Rodgers could get one more season out of a want-away Suarez, then surely the far more charismatic Klopp can cajole 12 more months out of a far less prickly a character than the Uruguayan.

(Image: Action Images / Paul Childs)

Far from merely going through the motions in a red shirt, Suarez had the season of his life ahead of a World Cup. A parting of the ways seems inevitable – but it must be on Liverpool’s terms, not Barcelona’s, not the player’s, not the agent’s and certainly not FSG’s.



City will provide a tougher test than Arsenal, but Liverpool couldn’t go into the game in a more confident mood.







ROBERT STORRY (City Centre)

(Image: (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))





After a less than convincing start to the league season, the Reds blew away Arsenal in spectacular fashion, with a performance of energy, drive and fluency, which was at times as good as anything we've seen in a long time.

Emre Can has been in fantastic form in recent times, and looks like being the driving force from midfield to attack, which we’ve missed. The victory in such convincing style will have given him and his team-mates further confidence, and the International break has come at just the wrong time, with the Reds in full-flow.



There will be far tougher tests over the season, and teams will come to Anfield and sit back, and that's when we'll get a real measure of how much the side has improved since last season.



Six months ago, it would have been inconceivable for Philippe Coutinho not to be the first name on the teamsheet. Now, he would struggle to get his place back.

Who would be left out after Sunday to accommodate him? The answer is nobody.

(Image: Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

And should he still be here come September, he will have to get used to not playing every game, including the bigger ones where you typically put out your strongest XI.

Given our attacking options, his almost inevitable departure will not be as hard-hitting as it once would, when it comes around.

Deadline day is hugely important, with our last chance to strengthen a squad which is relatively thin for the challenges ahead. After all the talk, speculation and rumours, let’s hope that there is at the very least, a strong commanding defender coming in through the Anfield doors.



Goalkeepers generally do not get rested. Not from a massive league match, and certainly not when you don't have another game for two weeks.

Bringing Karius in was unnecessary, and could have backfired. That said, it would be nice to see Danny Ward getting a run out, a keeper who Klopp surely intends to use soon, given that he wasn’t loaned back to Huddersfield to gain top-flight experience.







ALEX WATT (Rainford)



It's good to be back!



It took Liverpool's attack a couple of weeks to really get going again but when it all clicked first against Hoffenheim and then Arsenal, my goodness, did it click.

(Image: (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images))





We've had some glorious showings against Arsenal at Anfield in recent years (the 5-1 springs to mind) but this was something else. Liverpool absolutely decimated Arsenal.



Arsenal, it should be said, were dreadful on Sunday, especially the gulf they left in midfield for Henderson, Can and Wijnaldum to boss the show. But few teams would have coped with LFC's front three on this blistering form.



Firmino was at his workhorse best, Salah ran riot with his pace and Mane was unbelievable; from his perfectly curled strike to send the Reds 2-0 up, to his supremely intelligent play to block off the chasing Arsenal defenders for Salah's breakaway third.



The talent of that front three had the fans asking 'Philippe, who?'

(Image: (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))





Whether Coutinho stays or goes, this looks like a team which can cope without him. And with Thomas Lemar or Oxlade-Chamberlain potentially coming in (not to mention fighting off the likes of Barcelona to land Keita for next season), things look bright right now for LFC supporters.



Now, if they could just convince Southampton to part with Virgil van Dijk, what looked set to be a disappointing transfer window for Klopp and the boys may turn out to be very lucrative indeed.



And with the team successfully qualified for the Champions League - not to mention having drawn a relatively kind group - the future suddenly looks a lot brighter for Liverpool than it did a few weeks ago.







MICHAEL ATHERTON (Crosby)

There have been some fantastic results under Jurgen Klopp in recent seasons but the demolition of Arsenal on Sunday has to be right up there.



Liverpool were outstanding and the team showed that they can deliver a big performance following a midweek Champions League tie too. Our front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah looked unstoppable at times.



Mane certainly seems to be the new darling of the Kop. He is lighting up games the way Luis Suarez used to do and whilst he is on the pitch it seems we have a chance against any opponent.



Usually a tough upcoming fixture would bring trepidation but I feel that Manchester City will fear us more than we fear them. In fact, under Klopp, I am confident in this Liverpool team beating anyone.

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All in all it has been an excellent start to the season so far.



A few weeks ago there was doom and gloom around our activity in the transfer window but the announcement of the Naby Keita deal adds to the positive momentum and feeling around the club currently.



Hopefully we can get a few more top signings over the line over the next few days. A centre half is certainly required as well as another midfielder.



I am a big fan of Philippe Coutinho but his actions recently have been cowardly. To refuse to play for us because of an apparent injury which then vanishes when he joins up with the Brazil squad means that he has tarnished his Anfield legacy.

Maybe it is best to cash in on him before the transfer window shuts?