Liverpool 5, Arsenal 1: First Thoughts

Liverpool 5: Skrtel 1' 10', Sterling 16' 52', Sturridge 20'
Arsenal 1: Arteta (pen.) 69'

• Hey, the match started WHAT IS HAPPENING MARTIN SKRTEL HEADER MARTIN SKRTEL HEADER RAHEEM STERLING TAP-IN FROM A PERFECT SUAREZ ASSIST AND THEN COUTINHO PLAYS STURRIDGE INTO SPACE FOR THE FOURTH GOAL IN THE FIRST TWENTY MINUTES!@!#!
• Ahem. Liverpool started quite brightly, didn't they? Steven Gerrard's set-piece delivery continues to be absurdly on-point this season, and Skrtel's two headers were as much about the captain as they were the defender (even if the second was pretty fantastic). Two goals in ten minutes.
• If that Luis Suarez half-volley had gone in...woof. You cannot hit a football better than that.
• And then two more in the next ten, which, from an Arsenal perspective, were just absurdly straightforward. Ozil dispossessed by some wonderful Jordan Henderson pressure, Suarez breaks down the right, squares for one of Sturridge or Sterling to tap in. Coutinho gets possession deeper in midfield, bends one perfectly for Sturridge to run onto, curled around Szczesny for the fourth.
• From there it was cruise control the rest of the half, even if Liverpool very easily could have had six or seven. No urgency was needed, and none came from either side--the hosts sat back as Arsenal prodded around the edge of the area, pressing only when needed, and still managed the better chances of the two sides despite already being up by four.
• Jack Wilshere is the worst.
• Hey, a double for Raheem! And a yellow for Wilshere! And a pants-vaporizing through-ball from Coutinho to Henderson!
• And unfortunately a really stupid foul for Arsenal's penalty--taken really well by Arteta--from Steven Gerrard. No need to make any challenge at all.
• Nice to see Jordon Ibe get an appearance again, though it underlined how surreal this one had become. Easy, no pressure run-out for the youngster. With Liverpool facing the Premier League's first-place side. And Liverpool in fourth. Up 5-1.
• Luis Suarez just sort of needs to see the ball go in the net at some point, huh? He'll be upset he didn't get one, but a really good performance yet again from the Uruguayan up front, doing everything but scoring on the day.
• RAHEEM JUST FINISH FOR YOUR HAT-TRICK LET ME LOVE YOU
• That was neat.

We'll be back shortly to take an in-depth look at everything that happened in today's game with the full recap. Until then, let us know your take on the ups and downs of the match in the comments, and if you haven't already, join the community on the Liverpool Offside, where we'll have full coverage and lively in-game discussion for every match this season.