Liverpool fans are well and truly having the best times of their lives. Victories in all of their first 3 Premier league games and table toppers already with 9 points. Their fighting spirit and willingness to give everything is an X factor and their Japanese defender Wataru Endo did showcase some of it last night against Viktor Gyokeres, which the fans are absolutely loving.
Mikel Arteta’s side travelled to Anfield yesterday in what was being called as an early blockbuster in the 2025/26 season. It was a clash between the Champions and the challengers – two sides that were simply untouchable in the top-flight last season.
10 points had separated the two teams in the title fight last season with Liverpool finishing on 84 points and Arsenal on 74. The Gunners were extremely competitive but all they had to settle for was the 2nd spot like they have been for the past 3 seasons before the last Premier league edition.
In the 2022/23 and 2023/24 season, Arteta’s men fell behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City by 5 points and 2 points respectively. And last season, they fell behind to a red hot Liverpool side managed by Arne Slot who was on his managerial debut in the English top-flight.
The score had remained 2-2 in both of their meetings at the Emirates and Anfield last season. Arsenal had chances to close the gap on Liverpool before these two games but they failed to do so on both occasions.
Due to these factors, Arsenal Vs Liverpool was going to be a thriller as it was indirectly a title match early on in the season. Another factor that made this fixture interesting was Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Brighton, which was the former’s 2nd loss in the opening 3 matches.
Even though these are early days in the league, Liverpool will prove to be a threat for any club that wants to win the title. It will be fair to say that the Red will not be going down without a fight at any moment of the game, something we all saw last night.
Wataru Endo slams Viktor Gyokeres on the floor like a true Sumo wrestler
Speaking of fights – one broke out during the closing minutes of Liverpool and Arsenal’s clash. From the Champions’ side it was their 29-year-old Japanese centre-back Wataru Endo and from Arsenal, it was their 70 million summer signing Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres, who scored 54 goals and gave 13 assists in 52 appearances last season, was having a very tough game against Liverpool. He was constantly held by the Reds defense and statistics tells us the whole story.
Gyokeres had a rating of only 3.3 with 0 shots taken, let alone putting one on target as he was unable to get himself involved in the game at all. He was as rusty as he was during Arsenal’s opening fixture against Manchester United.
To make matters even more worse, Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, who replaced Florian Wirtz in the 89th minute, humiliated Viktor Gyokeres. Deep into the stoppage time, Arsenal’s counter attack was halted by Endo as he wrestled the Swedish forward into the floor like a true sumo wrestler would.
The moment did not go down well as Arsenal were fuming with that challenge by Endo, who was very lucky to only see a Yellow card. While the Gooners demanded a red card, Liverpool fans were thrilled to see their Japanese recruit showing his true colours.
Reactions came down pouring on X and they were hilarious. One fan labelled it as “Art” while another wrote “Endo showing another life why he’d be Japan’s best Sumo.” “Hang it in the Louvre”, and “This is my favourite type of anime” were among the comments that this Endo-Gyokeres moment received.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free kick puts Liverpool on top of the PL ladder
The game between Arsenal and Liverpool had plenty of back and forth but the game changing moment came in the 83rd minute. Hungary’s Dominik Szoboszlai was on target as he nailed in a free kick from outside of the box which was enough for the Merseyside outfit to seal the victory.
Sit back and enjoy every angle of THAT Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/XadhY8wuB9
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 31, 2025
Szoboszlai’s successful effort saw him become the first since Phillippe Coutinho to score a direct free kick in this high profile fixture since 2016 with Liverpool now scoring in 37 consecutive Premier league matches, which is their longest run ever.
The Reds will head into the international break on top of the Premier league and once the league resumes, they will take a trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on 14th September.
