Szoboszlai's stunning 83rd-minute free-kick settled the clash between last season's Premier League champions and runners-up. The 1-0 result at Anfield makes Liverpool the only team with a perfect record before the first FIFA international break of the season.

"Maybe we weren’t perfect, but we have 9 points. What you can see is a great spirit from the players, they all work really hard for it, and then you need a bit of luck, like we had against Newcastle and today against Arsenal," Slot said at the post-match press conference.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot applauds the fans at Anfield after the 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the Premier League on 30/9/2025. _Photo: Reuters_

According to the Dutch manager, Liverpool enjoyed a bit of luck, but it stemmed from hard work. "Like Michael Jordan said, 'The more I work, the luckier I get,' and I think you can say that about this group. The lads worked really hard. There will be times in the season when we work this hard and we don’t get the luck to score. But we are always creating chances for ourselves because we are working so hard," he affirmed.

The 46-year-old manager also explained that both Liverpool and Arsenal maintained a tight game throughout, resulting in expected goals (xG) of just 0.52 for the hosts and 0.49 for the visitors. "If we play this game 10 times in the same way, I think 8 times it will be a draw, we will win once and Arsenal will win once, because it wasn't a game with many incidents," Slot stated.

The Liverpool manager didn't find the tight game at Anfield boring but considered it a positive outcome of both teams' excellent defending and structure without the ball. Slot added: "Normally, both Arsenal and Liverpool can create more chances. Today showed the structure and discipline of both teams without the ball. So you need a moment of magic, and we got that from Dominik, to win a game that normally could have been a draw".

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk clears the ball from Arsenal forward Viktor Gokyeres in their 1-0 Premier League victory at Anfield on 30/9/2025. _Photo: Reuters_

In the first two rounds of this Premier League season, Liverpool's defense was questioned after conceding 4 goals in wins against Bournemouth (4-2) and Newcastle (3-2). Therefore, Slot considered the victory against Arsenal as proof of the opposite, with his team keeping a clean sheet. "When you are Liverpool, you get a lot of praise, and sometimes a little bit of criticism, which is fine. Today my players were outstanding," he said.

The manager also acknowledged the opponent's strength to praise his players. "They had to be outstanding against Arsenal because of the attacking power they have. I think there were moments when my players felt 'We're doing really well,' then they looked to the side and saw Eze and Odegaard coming on. But they stayed focused against these players. Van Dijk played fantastically against Newcastle, and against Arsenal he and the others were brilliant too".

Ha Phuong compiled this report.