Arne Slot praised Liverpool’s mentality and matchwinner Dominik Szoboszlai after the reigning Premier League champions eked out a narrow victory against last season’s runners-up Arsenal.
Anfield witnessed a forgettable clash devoid of clear-cut chances on Sunday, but a moment of magic in the 83rd minute lit up the game and left jaws on the floor.
Szoboszlai followed an impressive display as Liverpool’s makeshift right-back with a spectacular 30-yard free-kick that flew home in front of the Kop and sealed a 1-0 win.
“We’re not perfect,” Reds boss Slot said. “We weren’t perfect last season, by the way.
“But, still, what you can see is a great mentality, and everybody wants to work so hard to get a result over the line.
“Then you need a little bit of luck, which we had in Newcastle (on Monday) and today.
“I think it was Michael Jordan who said ‘the harder we work, the more luck we get’ and that is something that you can say about this team.
“They work incredibly hard, and there will be moments in the season where we work just as hard and we don’t find the luck of scoring a goal. But we always give ourselves a chance because we work so hard.”
Liverpool boss Slot was proud of his players efforts, with Szoboszlai naturally picked out for praise.
“I don’t think he changed at all in the last few games compared to what he did last season,” he said.
“He’s always been the player that I think understands what a Liverpool player should look like.
“If you wear this shirt, you should give everything, no matter in what position you play.
“As a midfield, he’s always the first one to track back, to press high, and today, I don’t think he did anything wrong.
“Unbelievable game from him in the position he probably played only two or three times in his life, so it tells you a lot about the mentality he has.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool confirmed Greece full-back Kostas Tsimikas will spend the remainder of the 2025-26 season on loan at Serie A side Roma.
As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta hit back at the suggestion he set up his side to avoid defeat rather than seal a first league win at Anfield since 2012.
“We didn’t do our game plan to frustrate them, we did it to win it,” the manager said.
“I think we elevated the game and the dominance to a point that they have to raise it.
“They did, especially from the 60-78 (minutes), when then you could see that there were no margins in the game and then when that happens the game is going to be decided in two ways.
“One, with an individual error and two, with a magic moment.
“So, they created a moment that was incredible, that has won the game and that was the difference. Nothing else.”
Arteta was forced into an early change at Liverpool, with key defender William Saliba replaced by Cristhian Mosquera after just five minutes.
“He twisted his ankle during the warm-up,” the Gunners boss said.
“He came in and he said he believed that he could carry on and play but straightaway in the first two actions I could see that he couldn’t cope and we had to get him out, unfortunately, but thank God we have Mosquera.”
