Podolski, Cazorla score as Gunners add to Reds' woes
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 3, 2012
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Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski (left) shoots past Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina (right) and Glen Johnson to score during their English Premier League match at Anfield yesterday. The Gunners eased to a 2-0 victory. [Shanghai Daily] |
ArsenaL kick-started its English Premier League campaign at the expense of Liverpool with new signings Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla both opening their accounts in a comfortable 2-0 win at Anfield yesterday.
Two 0-0 draws following the sale of Robin van Persie to Manchester United had raised questions over Arsenal's firepower but Podolski answered them with an emphatic finish before halftime to put the visitors in charge.
Spaniard Cazorla, signed from Malaga, sealed the points after 67 minutes to leave Liverpool's new manager Brendan Rodgers reflecting on the club's worst start to a league season for 50 years.
Arsenal, which is yet to concede a goal this season, moved up to seventh in the fledgling Premier League table with five points while Liverpool languishes fourth from bottom after two defeats and a draw.
Arsene Wenger's latest incarnation showed encouraging signs at Anfield as the Gunners swept to their first victory of the season with plenty to spare.
"The sharpness gets better from game to game but overall we looked solid and scored two goals," Wenger said.
With England forward Andy Carroll having been allowed to join West Ham United on loan, Rodgers had expected to sign Fulham's Clint Dempsey as his replacement. But Tottenham Hotspur signed the American instead and that failure, plus the evidence of its opening three games, suggests this will be a trying season for the Merseyside club.
On Saturday, reigning champion Manchester City celebrated manager Roberto Mancini's 100th Premier League match in charge with a 3-1 victory at home to Queens Park Rangers.
Yaya Toure gave City a 16th minute lead at Eastlands when he scored from close range following a corner.
But Italian boss Mancini would have been fuming when QPR, managed by his City predecessor Mark Hughes, equalized against the run of play in the 59th.
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