Liverpool thrust themselves right back into the battle for the Premier League's top four as they outclassed abject Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Chelsea's shock thrashing at home to West Brom earlier in the day opened the door for Liverpool - and Jurgen Klopp's burst straight through it in style with a victory that leaves them in fifth place only two points behind Thomas Tuchel's side.

The only surprise was that it took dominant Liverpool so long to make their superiority count.

They got the breakthrough they deserved after 64 minutes when Diogo Jota headed Trent Alexander-Arnold's brilliant delivery past Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno three minutes after he replaced Andy Robertson.

It was not only the decisive moment of the contest but also a timely reminder of the quality Alexander-Arnold possesses at a time when England manager Gareth Southgate feels he can do without him, despite Euro 2020 being on the horizon.

Liverpool doubled their lead four minutes later when Mohamed Salah took advantage of poor defending by Arsenal's Gabriel and then slid a cool finish through Leno's legs.

Jota was the beneficiary of more good work from Alexander-Arnold when he slammed home his second from close range with eight minutes left - by then, the game had already become a formality.