A strong finish to the first half has given Arsenal a 3-0 lead over Liverpool in their Premier League clash at the Emirates this afternoon.
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The hosts could have been ahead just a few minutes after kickoff as Santi Cazorla fired a low strike towards the Liverpool goal, but Simon Mignolet just managed to tip it away.
Arsenal continued to threaten in the opening stages as Aaron Ramsey found himself clean through on goal, but could not get the better of Mignolet, before Kolo Toure made the clearance to deny Cazorla on the rebound.
Despite the Gunners' early dominance, it was Liverpool who started to look the more likely as the half-hour mark approached, with Lazar Markovic squaring the ball for Raheem Sterling only to see the England international fire wide, while Philippe Coutinho also missed the target a couple of minutes later.
Sterling found himself through again after picking the ball up in midfield, but he hurried his finish and failed to test David Ospina, while a cross in for Jordan Henderson from the winger did not make it to the captain.
Arsenal punished the visitors for their missed opportunities shortly before the break when Alberto Moreno let Hector Bellerin slip past him, leaving the defender to curl the ball into the bottom corner.
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Arsene Wenger's men had a chance to double their advantage just a couple of minutes later when Mesut Ozil was brought down just outside the box, and the German whipped it around the wall and inside the left upright.
Arsenal continued to look dangerous as stoppage time approached, and increased the score in the final seconds when Alexis Sanchez shook off his marker on the edge of the box before blasting the ball down the centre.
Sian Cowper
