Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed his side for a "convincing" win over Liverpool but is refusing to get carried away with the Gunners' stunning start to the Premier League season after seeing them extend their lead at the summit.
A fine finish from Santi Cazorla put Arsenal ahead in the first half and then midfielder Aaron Ramsey continued his prolific goalscoring form with a brilliant second as Wenger's men clinched a 2-0 win in the top-of-the table clash.
The victory came on the back of a 2-0 home loss to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup in midweek and Wenger was pleased with his side's positive response.
“It was a convincing win against a good team, and that’s what we wanted. Of course everybody was waiting to see how we responded today, and we did that in a very positive manner,” he told Sky Sports 1.
“We got a good goal, and after that I felt we had many opportunities to make the difference and then Ramsey scored a stunning goal, but we had chances before and after. But overall what you want is good focus, great dynamic in the team and overall it was a very convincing performance.”
The win saw Arsenal move five points clear at the top of the table above nearest challengers Liverpool and Chelsea, who lost 2-0 to Newcastle in Saturday’s early kick-off. Wenger admits that scenario is good for morale in the team and among supporters, but pointed out it is still early days.
“It’s positive and nice but of course it’s very early in the season,” he said. “It’s good for the confidence of the team and for the ambition as well. Hopefully it gets everybody around the team to support us and continue to do that.”
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had few complaints about the result after seeing his side suffer only their second defeat of the season.
“I thought the best team won. Their mobility and passing was better than ours and we could’ve done better with the two goals,” said Rodgers, who nevertheless praised his side for their fighting spirit.
“We kept going all night, the players have been brilliant in their application. They went right to the end. We created chances,we just couldn’t put the ball in the net.”
Despite the loss, Liverpool can still reflect back on a fine start to the season and Rodgers said: “I said that after 10 games it’s a good analysis, you can look at the league and see where you’re at.
“I think what we can see is my players have been brilliant in this opening period, we’re gonna be in with a shout.
“We understand the competition is great, but so far we’ve shown enough that we can be in with a fighting chance of the top four and that’s what we’ll be aiming to do. We’re in that top four, we’ve just got to put this game to bed, learn from it and win our next game.”
