Arsenal thrashed by Liverpool

League leaders Arsenal were humbled by a miserable 5-1 scoreline by Liverpool at Anfield this afternoon.

The Gunners went into the game expecting a tough challenge from the Reds strike duo of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, but were pecked back in just the first minute as Martin Skrtel scored the opener from point blank range from a Steven Gerrard free-kick.

Eight minutes later, the two combined once more, as a corner from Gerrard was followed on by a sublime header from Skrtel for his second of the match.

The Reds had their third when Suarez squared a delightful pass for Raheem Sterling, who tapped home, and Sturridge capped off a remarkable first-half by slotting the fourth after Philippe Coutinho played his teammate through.

The second half resumed in similar fashion as Kolo Toure played through Sterling who notched up his second of a rebound from shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny.

Arsenal got their consolation as Mikel Arteta scored a goal from the penalty spot, following Gerrard's foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 69th minute.

The win takes Liverpool to 50 points, five points adrift of Arsenal, who face a tough challenge against Manchester United at the Emirates in midweek.