Liverpool v Arsenal: Premier League – live!

42 min: Well, you can’t say that wasn’t coming. Liverpool’s full-backs have been given licence to roam and even though it was from a se-piece, it was one of their crosses that the home side opened the scoring. Matteo Guendozi was caught napping as Joel Matip leapt to get on the end of Alexander-Arnold’s delivery and send a bullet header past Bernd Leno.

Liverpool lead. Trent Alexander-Corner sends the ball into the mixer from a corner and Joel Matip heads home.

39 min: From a throw-in, Mo Salah rolls Granit Xhaka in the Liverpool penalty area before sending a low diagonal drive flashing inches wide of the far post.

38 min: Andy Robertson drops a good delivery towards Firmino at the far post, but David Luiz intervenes to avert the danger.

37 min: Liverpool free-kick about 35 yards from the Arsenal goal in a central position after a foul on Sadi Mane.

34 min: Play resumes, with nobody getting sent off and the crowd none the wiser as to what particular incident was being checked. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner is headed clear. Within seconds, Nicolas Pepe has robbed the ball from Jordan Henderson and is bearing down on the Liverpool penalty area. He gets the better of Andy Robertson, the only defender between him and Adrian, before striking a weak shot straight at the goalkeeper. That was the chance of the game so far.

33 min: Play is interrupted for a VAR intervention. I have no idea what is being checked, much like the players and the crowd. It’s a potential red card, apparently.

32 min: Robertson crosses from the left, trying to pick out Mo Salah. He’s crowded off the ball, which breaks to Alexander-Arnold on the right. He pulls it back to Jordan Henderson, whose first time shot takes a deflection on its way over the bar.

31 min: Pepe tries a shot from just outside the Liverpool penalty area, as Andy Robertson stands off him. He tries to curl the ball into the top corner, but it sails agonisingly wide. Good effort!

30 min: Bernd Leno leaps to pluck another Trent Alexander-Arnold cross from out on the right flank from the sky.

27 min: Arsenal enjoy some time on the ball, giving their already knackered midfielders a chance for a breather. They’re being run ragged by a dragging them from one side of the pitch to the other repeatedly, with the manner in which they’re constantly switching play.

25 min: Granit Xhaka hoofs the ball long for Pepe to chase after another bout of sustained Liverpool pressure. He’s unable to get to it and Liverpool resume possession. Moments previously, Sadio Mane tried a shot from distance, only to see his effort sail into the stand behind the goal.

22 min: Liverpool have three shots on the Arsenal goal in quick succession. None trouble Bernd Leno. On Sky, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are discussing the freedom of the park Arsenal are giving to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, saying “it’s what Arsenal want”, so their front two can get tight on Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk. It seems a decidedly risky strategy to me, because it looks to be only a matter of time before Liverpool score.

20 min: A woeful Dani Cabellos pass across his own penalty area from the corner flag drops to the feet of Sadio Mane. He shoots low and hard, Bernd Leno saves and Cabellos waves a hand in apology to his team-mates.

17 min: Henderson switches play out to the left wing again during a sustained period of possession for Liverpool. Arsenal attack swiftly on the counter- however and Pepe tries his luck with a shot. Adrian saves his low drive.

15 min: Having weathered an early storm, Arsenal have shown signs of improvement. They’re playing l;ong balls up the left and right channels for Pepe and Aubamayang to chase and the pair are finding plenty of space to work in, what with Liverpool’s full-backs getting left high up the pitch.

11 min: Adrian gallops out of his penalty area to clear a through ball from Aubamayang to Pepe, who is being shepherded by Virgil van Dijk. He hacks the ball as far as Aubamayang, who tries to loft the ball into the recently vacated Liverpool goal. He doesn’t have the necessary accuracy and Liverpool’s goalkeeper gets away with his needless rush of blood to the head.

10 min: Andy Robertson receives a pass from Henderson in acres of space out on the left flank. His cross into the penalty area is headed clear.

8 min: Liverpool’s full-backs are getting the freedom of the Anfield flanks. Trent Alexander-Arnold gets a cross in, but his delivery is put out for a corner by David Luiz. From the ensuing corner, taken by young Trent, Gini Wijnaldum gets a shot off but it’s high over the bar.

7 min: Nicolas Pepe canters down the right flank on a counter-attack, but is dispossessed as he looks up to survey his options. As far as I can tell, Dani Ceballos has been tasked as playing as a No 10 behind a front two of Aubamayang and Pepe.

5 min: Arsenal are seriously under the cosh in these early stages, struggling to get the ball out of their own half under the intensity of Liverpool’s pressing. With Arsenal trying to keep the midfield area so narrow, Liverpool are switching play from wing to wing, where they’ve more space to operate.

3 min: Liverpool win a free-kick, wide on left. The ball’s floated into the penalty area and looks to be falling for Virgil van Dijk. David Luiz gets a touch on it to avert the danger.

2 min: Arsenal line up with a narrow midfield diamond and are immediately on the back foot. Liverpool switch play from right to left, where Andy Robertson gets on the ball. His low ball through the Arsenal penalty area only just evades the lunge of Roberto Firmino at the back post. Close!

1 min: Liverpool kick off, playing into the Kop end in the first half at the request of Arsenal, who won the toss. Their players wear red shirts, shorts and socks. Arsenal are in navy, with luminous yellow trim.

Not long now: Jordan Henderson and Granit Xhaka lead the teams out on to the Anfield sward on a sunny summer’s evening on Merseyside. Both sets of players line up for the last of the pre-match niceties and kick-off is just a few minutes away.

Away days: We’ve had five away wins out of five fixtures played in the Premier League today, with Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Leicester and West Ham all triumphing on the road. Can Arsenal make it six out of six? Recent history suggests not, but we’ll find out soon enough if they can end Liverpool’s 41-match unbeaten streak at home.

Meanwhile over on Twitter: Arseblog – a man who knows far more about the Gunners than I do – reckons that Unai Emery may play a midfield diamond.

How will Arsenal line up? Only time will tell, as it’s a slightly perplexing selection by Unai Emery, who has picked three central midfielders (four if you include Dani Ceballos). My guess, which will almnost certainly be wrong, is that Granit Xhaka will play in the centre of midfield, with Joe Willock on the right and Matteo Guendouzi on the left. Up front, Dani Ceballos will play on the left of a front three, with Pierre Emerick-Aubamayang in the middle and Nicolas Pepe on the right. We’ll find out how completely wrong I am in just under 30 minutes.

Fabinho and Jordan Henderson come back into Liverpool’s midfield, with James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain making way. Nicolas Pepe and Granit Xhaka start for Arsenal, with Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson dropping to the bench,

Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk, Matip, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.

Subs: Milner, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Shaqiri, Origi, Kelleher.

Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Willock, Pepe, Aubameyang, Ceballos.

Subs: Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Torreira, Chambers, Nelson, Martinez, Kolasinac.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)

Early team news: Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka are all in contention to start for Arsenal, but Unai Emery said yesterday that he would not decide on his line-up until this morning. If, as expected, Xhaka and Pepe start, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson will probably make way.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson remains sidelined with a calf injury, so Adrian will continue between the sticks. Dejan Lovren and Naby Keita are both injured, but would almost certainly not have started anyway.

Arsenal travel to Anfield without a win against Liverpool to their name in the past eight meetings of the sides. In the corresponding fixture last season, Unai Emery’s side were the victims of a 5-1 shellacking, their third consecutive defeat at Anfield. If they can prevail today, it will be their first win at Liverpool’s ground in seven years. Kick-off is at 5.30pm (BST), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.