I was fortunate enough to be at the game of the weekend at St James’ Park, Newcastle. The raucous atmosphere was at least the equal of Bethpage Black for the Ryder Cup later that evening.
‌It was a case of back to the future watching two sides slug it out brilliantly for more than an hour and a half without any let-up.
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‌Controlled, modern football was replaced by chasing, battling and tackling – but with little of the technical ability lost in the mayhem. There were long throws, lumping it up to big strikers and, of course, the obligatory corner-kick mayhem. All three goals were scored from these set-pieces, and it was breathless brilliance.
‌If this is the new style for the Premier League, which I suspect it is, then sign me up for another decade.
Arsenal probably just deserved their 96th-minute winner after making more clear-cut chances, but it was a close call. The question is regularly asked: can the Gunners stay with Liverpool and maybe overtake them this time? Well, this game once again showed they are in the best shape since the Mikel Arteta era began.
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‌Not everyone was great. Bukayo Saka was muscled out of it and others had to put the silky soccer skills on the backburner as they played it like a game from the 1980s. However, most showed they could rat when they needed to.
And this is why Arsenal will have Liverpool fans concerned for the rest of the season.
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