Good afternoon! The Premier League is well and truly back, and the standout fixture of the opening weekend sees last season's runners-up Arsenal host Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. Both teams are expected to mount a top-four challenge and are outsiders to push for the title this season, and in what is expected to be the most competitive campaign ever, even games this early could prove to be crucial. There is plenty to play for despite it only being matchday one, and we have a bumper two-hour build-up for you ahead of this mouth-watering fixture. Team news is expected in around an hour, so let's start with a look at the hosts...

There is no getting around the fact that this is a huge season for Arsenal, and in particular Arsene Wenger. Their title drought has been well documented, although they may not get much sympathy from Liverpool fans in that respect, and with the competition in this season's league it will be a tall order to end what will, by the end of the season, have been a 13-year wait. In the intervening years, the top four has been enough for Wenger and the Gunners, but even that is going to be a big ask this term with competition from the likes of the Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and perhaps defending champions Leicester City.

Of course, getting into the top four has been competitive for a few years now, but what makes this term especially important for Wenger at least is that he is entering the final year of his contract. A section of Arsenal fans protested against his management towards the end of last season as the Gunners never really pushed Leicester for the title - despite eventually finishing second - and the morale amongst the fanbase hasn't exactly been improved in the summer. There is no doubt that Wenger has been a magnificent servant to the club, and the fact that this year he will be entering his 21st season in charge when no other current Premier League manager has spent more than five years at the helm of their current club is a mark of how impressive his time has been, but his future after this campaign is very much up in the air.

In truth, the anti-Wenger brigade has grown louder with each passing season since the Invincibles of 2004 last picked up the Premier League title, and two FA Cups in the last 11 years is not exactly a great record for a club considered to be one of the biggest in England and Europe. When you compare his record of three league titles in 20 years to Sir Alex Ferguson's record, there is a major disparity and a failure to launch a title bid this term could well prove to be the end for the Frenchman. Even a top-four finish may not save him this time, although quite who they could get to replace him is a question that the Arsenal board will have to ask at some point. Manchester United dramatically dipped after Fergie left and, with most of the world's top managers already in the Premier League or otherwise taken, the options are quite slim.

ARSENAL VS. LIVERPOOL MEMORIES: Throughout the build-up to this game I will be looking back at some of the more memorable moments from the fixture down the years, and we start with surely the most famous of the lot. These two were tussling for the title in the 1988-89 season and just so happened to meet on the final day. It was Liverpool's title to lose as they welcomed Arsenal to Anfield, with the Gunners needing to win 2-0 to wrestle it from the Reds' grasp. What followed has gone down in history as one of the greatest finales to a season ever as Michael Thomas, who later joined Liverpool dramatically won it at the death. Think Sergio Aguero vs. QPR in 2012, but even more dramatic.

Of course, questions over Arsene Wenger's future are still a whole season away from being answered, and the fact of the matter is that last term they came up with their best performance in a Premier League campaign since 2005. Even so, second placed was not really deemed good enough in a campaign that saw all of their expected main title rivals falter. In the end it was Leicester and Tottenham who set the pace, and the only real positive for the Gunners was that they somehow managed to finish above their North London rivals once again courtesy of a late collapse from Spurs. They clinched second place on the final day, but still the overriding feeling after last season was one of missed opportunities.

As I mentioned, Arsenal haven't done much this summer to raise expectations that the club could go one better this time around either. The big-money signing of Granit Xhaka early in the transfer window suggested that perhaps Wenger was going to uncharacteristically loosen the purse strings, but as in recent windows it has so far proved to be a case of just one big-money signing. Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have arrived in recent summers, but Arsenal fans will have been hoping for more of a splurge this time around. The Gunners were the top earners in the Premier League last season and, with the new TV deal, should have plenty of money to spend, but once again the fans have been forced to watch on enviously as the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have splashed the cash.

Wenger has been quick to stress that you don't have to spend big to bring in quality players, something that Leicester proved last season, but perhaps the most frustrating thing for Arsenal fans has been the lack of arrivals as opposed to the lack of spending - although both do tend to go hand in hand. Rob Holding is the only other player to arrive at the club since Xhaka, which means that Wenger has so far neglected the two areas really in need of strengthen - central defence and up front. He has acknowledged a need for a new defender especially, with Mertesacker and Gabriel injured and Koscielny lacking match fitness after Euro 2016, and Shkodran Mustafi is the name being linked, but he won't have him for this game and he is very short at the back. The striking options are also fairly sparse, with Walcott expected to play through the middle as Giroud, like Koscielny, looks to build himself back up to match fitness.

One thing is for sure - they need to solve those problems sooner rather than later. They have already left it later than they would have liked, and with just over two weeks remaining until the end of the transfer window time is beginning to run out. Gabriel will miss much of the opening two months of the campaign, while Mertesacker could be out until 2017, so centre-back reinforcements are something of an urgency for the club. It also doesn't help that they have a difficult start to the season, playing three of their expected title/top-four rivals - including champions Leicester - in their first six games. Indeed, a trip to the Foxes is next up after today's match, while they host Chelsea after matches against Watford, Southampton and Hull. A poor start to this season of all seasons could prove to be very costly.

ARSENAL VS. LIVERPOOL MEMORIES: This fixture has seen a Premier League record five hat-tricks down the years, and one of those came from Liverpool's main tormentor for many years - Thierry Henry. He scored this one in 2004, the most memorable goal of which saw him pick the ball up just inside his own half, dance into the box while making a fool of Carragher en route and then calmly slot a trademark finish into the bottom corner. What they wouldn't do for a striker of that quality now!

The Gunners go into the new season generally considered fourth favourites to win the title, behind the Manchester clubs and Chelsea but above Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. It is all going to be about consistency this season, and that is not something Arsenal have been particularly good at over the last decade or so. On their day they can look like world beaters, and they always seem to go on a really good run at some stage of the season where they string together win after win. However, they also have the odd slump where they lose crucial points in quick succession, and that was the case again last season. They actually topped the standings at the end of January, but became the first team not to win the title from that position since Manchester United in 2003-04, despite ending the campaign with a season-best 10-game unbeaten run.

They have continued that unbeaten streak through pre-season, so come into the new campaign having not tasted defeat since March, when they were beaten by Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. They embarked on two tours during pre-season, of the United States and Scandinavia, and came through with four wins and a draw from their five outings. The most recent of those saw them come from behind to beat Guardiola's Man City 3-2 in Gothenburg, while the most eye-catching result saw them hammer Viking 8-0. They were actually only 1-0 up at half time in that match, but they completely ran riot in the second half to pick up a very convincing victory.

Of course, pre-season friendlies are a different kettle of fish from the Premier League, but scoring 17 goals in their five warm-up games is still a positive for the Gunners considering they are still without their main striker in Giroud. They were the lowest scorers in the top four last season and less than half of their goals actually came at home, so that is an area they really need to improve this season. The likes of Newcastle and Everton scored more times in front of their own fans than Arsenal last season, with their tally of 31 being among the worst in the top eight of the table. Their recent record at home on the opening day of a Premier League season is also a little concerning, with two defeats from their last three - including last season's 2-0 loss to West Ham. Those are their only two home opening-day losses in Premier League history, though, with 10 wins and three draws too.

ARSENAL VS. LIVERPOOL MEMORIES: Anything Thierry can do, Crouchy can do better, right? Three years after Henry's hat-trick, Peter Crouch hit one of his own for Liverpool against the Gunners, and this one was perfect. Left foot, right foot and header, the big man up top really enjoyed himself in this Premier League clash.

Crouchy takes us nicely on to Liverpool, and there is a lot of intrigue as to what the Reds could do this season. It is their first full campaign under Jurgen Klopp, and they certainly seemed to be moving in the right direction last season. The German has now had a pre-season with his side and his first summer transfer window - in which he has been very easy - so it is very much his own squad now. Klopp built his reputation with a successful stint at Dortmund as he ousted Bayern Munich from the top seat of German football, and he has a similar job on his hands this time around.

Liverpool are, of course, still one of the biggest clubs in English football, but there is no doubting that they have slipped from the top table in terms of performances on the pitch in recent years. Once a member of the 'big four' who seemingly won Champions League football every year and reached the latter stages of the competition itself, the Reds have now finished outside the top five in six of the last seven seasons. The exception is, of course, the 2013-14 campaign when they came agonisingly close to the Premier League title, but aside from that it has been a battle for the Europa League places in recent years.

No-one at the club will need telling that is not a good enough record for Liverpool, and last season proved to be the worst of the lot in terms of league position. The optimism that surrounded Klopp and some of Liverpool's performances may have taken a little bit of the focus away from their final position, but eighth place represents their worst top-flight finish for more than 50 years. The last time they suffered such a low finish was in 1962-63 on their first season back in the top flight as Bill Shankly was rebuilding the club, and if Klopp can achieve even a fraction of the success that Shankly did then brighter times are ahead for the club. The German certainly seems to have joined Shankly amongst the ranks of Liverpool cult heroes already.

In fairness to Liverpool, they did take their eye off the Premier League a little towards the closing stages of the season due to their involvement in the Europa League - as their record of just one win from their last five league games shows. The Europa League at that stage was their most likely route back into the Champions League, and despite making it all the way to the final via a thrilling victory over Borussia Dortmund, they ultimately came up short in Basel. They were the better side against Sevilla in the first half, but only managed one goal and conceded within seconds of the restart. From that point, Sevilla controlled things and ultimately came away with a 3-1 win for their third consecutive title in the competition.

Klopp's record in finals is actually pretty dire, and he added two more losses to that last term. In addition to the Europa League, Liverpool also reached the final of the League Cup where they were eventually beaten on penalties by Manchester City. In a way, those two competitions provided a microcosm of the club's season, with promise and optimism there but ultimately a disappointing finish. Whether Klopp can overcome his final curse and lead Liverpool to silverware during the upcoming campaign remains to be seen, but despite ended up empty-handed last term, the club's fans saw enough from their team under the German to have high hopes for the new campaign.

ARSENAL VS. LIVERPOOL MEMORIES: Henry's hat-trick was brilliant, Crouch's was perfect, but neither of them could quite compare with Robbie Fowler's. The deadly striker created Premier League history when he scored three goals in the space of just four minutes and 30 seconds - the fastest hat-trick ever scored in the competition up to that point. That record lasted for a while too, but it was finally broken by one Sadio Mane - who has since joined Liverpool - last season. Incidentally, we are just a few minutes away from finding out whether Mane will be handed a Liverpool debut today. Cue the team news...

TEAM NEWS! The team news is in, and there are one or two surprises in there...

ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Bellerin, Holding, Chambers, Monreal; Elneny, Coquelin, Walcott, Ramsey, Iwobi; Sanchez
Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Wilshere, Xhaka, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Akpom

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno; Wijnaldum, Henderson, Lallana, Coutinho, Mane; Firmino
Subs: Manninger, Can, Origi, Matip, Alexander-Arnold, Stewart, Grujic

What can we make of those teams, then? Well, the first thing to note is that Arsenal have not gone for Walcott up front, but instead play Alexis Sanchez through the middle. The Chilean, who helped his country to Copa America glory this summer, was heavily linked with Liverpool before joining Arsenal, and is entrusted with the central striking role in the absence of Giroud. Walcott, who last year wanted to play as a striker but this year has said that his preferred position is out on the right, will indeed play on the wing as Oxlade-Chamberlain is forced to settle for a place on the bench.

There is notably an inclusion for Alex Iwobi, who impressed during pre-season and is expected to really push for a regular first-team spot during the upcoming campaign. He will play on the left of the trio behind Sanchez, while Aaron Ramsey will hope to follow up his memorable summer with a good season for his club. The midfielder was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament at Euro 2016 having helped Wales all the way to the semi-finals, and things may well have been different in the last-four clash with Portugal had he not been suspended. He plays in the number 10 role today.

The holding midfield duo is interesting too as Elneny and Coquelin are chosen - quite a defensive move from Wenger but perhaps not a surprising one considering their shortages at the back. It means that £32m summer signing Granit Xhaka has to make do with a place on the bench, as does Santi Cazorla. The Spaniard only recently returned from a lengthy injury and, while he was imperious during the 8-0 drubbing of Viking and got some valuable minutes under his belt in the process, he is not deemed fit enough to play from the start today. You'd have to think that he would be there in a full-strength XI for the Gunners, though.

Indeed, I'd estimate that six of the Arsenal players starting today would not make their strongest XI, which will be welcome news for Liverpool. Elneny and Coquelin may make way for Xhaka and Cazorla, while you'd expect Giroud and Ozil to also come into a full-strength XI, with both missing out today due to their Euro 2016 involvement. The most notable weak area for the Gunners is in central defence, though. I have already talked about their injury problems there, which leaves 21-year-olds Calum Chambers and Rob Holding as Wenger's only options. The latter only joined from Bolton in the summer, having failed to prevent the Trotters from being relegated in the Championship, so that will be a real area of concern for Arsenal today.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will be licking their lips at that defence pairing. However, they are also missing a few key players through injury, most notably Daniel Sturridge. The England striker missed his side's final two pre-season games with a minor hip problem and has not recovered in time to feature at all today, being left out of the squad entirely. Liverpool will hope that it is not a sign of things to come for the injury-plagued striker, as their hopes of pushing for the top four - or even the title - could rest of whether their star striker is fit and firing.

Roberto Firmino gets the nod ahead of Origi - and Benteke and Balotelli - to lead the line, and the Brazilian will be looking to pick up where he left off last season. He had a hand in 13 goals from his 15 Premier League appearances in 2016, scoring nine times and setting up four more goals. He also scored twice against Arsenal in January, including one stunning strike during their entertaining 3-3 draw, so the Gunners will know exactly what to expect. He is not the only threat for the visitors, though, with big-money summer signing Sadio Mane being handed his debut alongside Firmino's compatriot Coutinho.

Mane is one of three players to be handed their competitive debuts for Liverpool today, with Georginio Wijnaldum also included in the starting XI. The Dutchman was a rare shining light for Newcastle last season as the Magpies suffered relegation, and it was no surprise to see him stay in the top flight with a £25m move to the Reds. He is expected to play in a midfield trio alongside captain Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana, with Coutinho, Mane and Firmino acting as a front three. Emre Can, meanwhile, has to make do with a place on the bench alongside another new signing in Marko Grujic, who was in fine goalscoring form during pre-season.

One of Klopp's more interesting an unexpected selections comes in defence, where Ragnar Klavan is handed his debut alongside Lovren in the middle. With Sakho injured, Joel Matip was expected to fill in at centre-back, but instead he is on the bench and it is another new signing who is given the nod. There are no surprises on the flanks as Clyne and Moreno are selected, although the latter does have something to prove this term after some questionable performances last season. In goal, Simon Mignolet gets the gloves, but he is expected to face stiff competition from Loris Karius once the new signing returns from a hand injury he sustained in pre-season. For today, though, former Arsenal keeper Alex Manninger - who also joined during the summer - acts as the back-up to the Belgian.

ARSENAL VS. LIVERPOOL MEMORIES: In terms of recent seasons, this fixture sparks one memory in particular from the 2013-14 campaign. Liverpool were in full flow on their charge towards the title, and they ripped Arsenal to shreds at Anfield. The score was 4-0 to the hosts inside 20 minutes following a roaring start, and they went on to see out a memorable 5-1 victory. The season ultimately ended in disappointment, of course, but this performance was perhaps the perfect example of what made Liverpool so dangerous with the likes of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling on fire.

I mentioned earlier that consistency will be the key this season, and that was Liverpool's biggest fault last term. On their day they looked like they could beat anyone, and performances such as their two against Manchester City, or the 4-0 drubbing of Everton, the 6-1 thrashing of Southampton and the 4-3 comeback win over Dortmund showed that they are a formidable team at their best. However, for every one of those performances there were a couple which failed to get going, and that prevented Liverpool from ever really building any big momentum throughout the season. They only finished six points off the Champions League places in the end, so a couple more wins would have made things very interesting, but they were unable to string any good runs together.

Indeed, they only won three Premier League games in a row on two occasions throughout last season, which isn't enough to get a team challenging anywhere near the title. Both of those three-game winning spells did come towards the end of the campaign, though, and Liverpool were certainly becoming a little more consistent the longer they spent under Klopp, so the fans will be hopeful that a full summer under the German has continued that progression. Klopp himself has stressed how important consistency is for his side during the upcoming campaign, and if they can finally solve that problem then they have the quality to get themselves in and amongst the title challengers.

Their pre-season form has not exactly suggested that the problem of consistency has been solved, though. They started well enough with four wins in a row without conceding a goal against lower-league opposition, but once the matches got a bit tougher their results began to tail off. They alternated between defeats and losses in their final five games of the campaign, most notably in the last two. A 4-0 thrashing of a Barcelona side that included Suarez and Messi at Wembley made plenty of headlines and would have got a lot of Liverpool fans very excited, but then just a day later they were beaten by Mainz by the same scoreline. They did only land in Germany in the early hours of that day, but it was still a hefty loss and ended their pre-season on a very low note.

Liverpool can't really afford to have a settling-in period this season, as they have a very tough start to the campaign. The ongoing work on the Main Stand at Anfield means that the Reds begin with three away games on the bounce, which includes two trips to North London - today to take on Arsenal and then a match against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Sandwiched between them is a trip to newly-promoted Burnley, but after that they face champions Leicester and Chelsea. If you include the Foxes in the prospective title contenders, that means that Liverpool will take on four of their rivals for the crown in their first five outings.

Liverpool are only the fifth favourites for the title with most bookies, but the ace up their sleeve compared to most of the other teams is their lack of European football. They played a whopping 63 games last season, and that will decrease by at least 15 solely because they are not involved in the Europa League. Not only does that give players more time to rest, it also gives Klopp more time on the training field with them, so they will be hoping to emulate Leicester and make the most of that. For much of last season Liverpool had three matches a week, which made it though for Klopp to really impose his style on the team in training, so missing out on a place in the Europa League could be a blessing in disguise.

ARSENAL VS. LIVERPOOL MEMORIES: Our final video of this build-up comes from the most recent meeting between the two sides, and it was a memorable one full of goals. Three of them came in the first 20 minutes as Firmino scored either side of a Ramsey goal to give the hosts a 2-1 lead at Anfield, but Giroud's brace then put Arsenal ahead. They looked to be on course for the victory until Joe Allen popped up and rescued a point in the final minute.

That 90th-minute goal is one of many in this fixture down the years. Indeed, games between these two clubs have produced more goals in the 90th minute or later than any other in Premier League history - 16 to be precise. It is Liverpool who get them more often than not, with Allen strike being the ninth time they have scored in the dying stages against Arsenal, while the Gunners have hit seven themselves.

PREDICTION: Right, we're less than 10 minutes away from kickoff now, which means that it is time for a prediction! This fixture often provides goals, and with both sides relatively short at the back I don't see today being any exception. There is plenty of attacking talent on show to make the most of those defensive frailties, but Liverpool are closer to full strength so I am backing them to come away with all three points today. 3-2 to the visitors!

Such a result would certainly go against the grain in this fixture, with Arsenal having been surprisingly dominant in recent seasons. They have lost just one of their last 10 meetings with Liverpool in all competitions, winning five and drawing four, with that solitary defeat being the 5-1 thrashing in 2014. Their impressive record stretches even further back to just two defeats in their last 20 domestic meetings going back almost a decade, so games against the Gunners have not exactly been fruitful for Liverpool of late.

Their record away to the Gunners is even worse, with only one win in their last 20 visits and 11 defeats in that time. The Emirates has not been a happy hunting ground at all, with Liverpool having amassed just eight points from their 10 Premier League visits to the ground. The most recent fixture between these two here resulted in a goalless draw in an early-season Monday night fixture last term, with Liverpool coming closest when they hit the woodwork.

Right, the players are out and we're just about ready to go in front of a packed Emirates Stadium here! It is a huge match to start the new season, so who can gain first blood?

KICKOFF: Here we go then! The standout fixture of the opening weekend gets underway as Firmino kicks us off at a sunny Emirates Stadium!

Mane thinks for a moment that he has stolen in behind having latched on to Lallana's header, but the linesman is slow to raise his flag and Arsenal win a free kick for offside.

There will be a lot of focus on the much-maligned Mignolet today, but his first touch of the new season sees him pull off a Cruyff turn to evade Ramsey. Cool as you like.

Arsenal are looking to get on the front foot in the opening exchanges here and have already won an early corner, although that came to nothing. This one could be a good, high-tempo affair judging by the first few minutes.

CHANCE! Lovely football from Arsenal as they attack from the left flank. Ramsey is part of it all and he breaks into the box before poking a shot goalwards, but it is comfortable for Mignolet to collect.

Liverpool haven't really got going in this one so far. Arsenal have seen the majority of the ball and are looking the more dangerous going forward, while Liverpool have been unable to string a good spell of passes together yet.

Firmino looks to make something happen down the right channel, working a yard of space to dig a cross out. His subsequent delivery is poor, though, as he chips the cross straight behind for a goal kick.

SAVE! Cech is called into action for the first time this season as Liverpool up the tempo and work the ball out to the right. Clyne is overlapping down that flank and tries to drill a low strike in, but it is straight at the Arsenal keeper.

Well, questions have been asked of Moreno, and this is pretty poor from the full-back. He tries to cut out floated ball over the top, but only succeeds in nodding it straight to Ramsey in a good position in the box. He continues in an attempt to make up for it and dives in rashly inside the area, but he gets the ball and puts it behind for a corner.

Arsenal are doing a good job off the ball of closing down most of Liverpool's channels. They are pressing high up the pitch and forcing Liverpool into a number of misplaced passes - or at least backward passes.

Better pressing from Liverpool high up the pitch, but they still look to be a yard off the pace on the ball. Arsenal have certainly settled into this one quicker and are looking more confident in possession.

Walcott and Sanchez look to link up down the right flank as Arsenal come forward at pace, but the return ball is just too strong for Walcott and it goes out for a goal kick.

SHOT! Ramsey tries something ambitious as the ball breaks to him following a scrappy period in the middle of the park. He sees Mignolet off his line and goes for goal from a good 35 yards out at least, but sends it well over.

Almost a chance for Liverpool at the other end as a cross is played in towards Firmino, but Bellerin does just about enough to prevent the Brazilian getting a clean contact on the finish.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Liverpool as Lallana picks out a really clever pass in to Firmino on the right side of the area. He drills one towards the bottom far corner, but Chambers gets an important interception to push it away from goal.

Moments later Liverpool win a free kick in a good crossing position, but the ball is played back for Moreno to swing in and his cross is poor. It still falls to the Liverpool man, but Klavan sees his shot blocked.

YELLOW CARD! Lallana becomes the first player in the book this afternoon for a strong challenge. He got the ball, but the nature of it sees him go into Michael Oliver's notebook.

Alberto Moreno, you owe Mignolet a beer! It is rash from the left-back once again as he watches the ball drop down and Walcott collect it before diving in to a silly tackle in the area. He didn't need to leave his feet and should have got to the ball first, but doesn't and inside hacks down the Arsenal man. Walcott himself steps up, but Mignolet guesses right and turns the spot kick away.

Just over a minute after missing the penalty, Walcott redeems himself by breaking the deadlock! Lallana is caught in possession by Coquelin before Iwobi feeds a pass out to an unmarked Walcott - left free by (guess who?) Moreno. The winger has time to take a touch before then picking out the bottom corner with a clinical finish across goal.

A few minutes to forget for Moreno there. He really is a defensive liability for Liverpool at the moment, first giving away the penalty and then going walkabouts for the goal. Moments later he was nowhere to be seen on another Arsenal attack, and Coutinho had to race back and fill in for the Spaniard.

SHOT! Another shot for Firmino as he is teed up on the edge of the box, but he drags his effort a few yards wide of the target. It was better football from the visitors, though, as they managed to string together a few passes.

YELLOW CARD! Coquelin is the first Arsenal player in the book this season.

Monreal cuts out a pass from Coutinho and immediately looks to spark a counter-attack, driving forward before lofting a ball over the top. Sanchez is behind the defence and looks to be getting on the end of it, but the offside flag is raised.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool to get back into this game as a loose pass is picked up Firmino, who suddenly finds himself in a three-on-two situation. He plays it out to Coutinho, but his pass is a bit heavy and Coutinho can only pull it back to the edge of the box. Wijnaldum is running on to it and tries to place a finish into the corner, but Cech gets down to make the save.

YELLOW CARD! Lovren goes into the book for a cynical foul on Sanchez in order to stop an Arsenal attack. No complaints there.

Coutinho collects the ball on the left flank and cuts inside before drifting a curling cross/shot into the middle that Cech collects.

Arsenal win a very soft free kick in a shooting position, and Sanchez is the man standing over it. His effort is disappointing, but does take a deflection on its way though and the Gunners will have a corner.

Chambers gets his head to the resulting delivery, but can't get any power on it and steers a tame effort bouncing harmlessly wide.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

Liverpool level things up right on the stroke of half time, and it is another opening-day stunner from Coutinho! The Brazilian wins the free kick himself before going on to curl a sumptuous effort right into the corner. Cech couldn't get there, and out of nothing the visitors are all square. Brilliant strike.

It's all square at half time, then, after a first half full of talking points. Arsenal have been the better team, with Liverpool unable to really get going in that opening 45 minutes, but a piece of individual brilliance late on means that the visitors are level at the interval. They may need to improve in the second half, but this one is all to play for right now.

The opening goal came shortly after the half-hour mark when Theo Walcott drilled a low finish across goal and into the bottom far corner, but that was only half of the story. Only 68 seconds earlier, Walcott had been denied from the penalty spot by a good save from Mignolet. Moreno was at fault for both incidents, diving in to a stupid, rash challenge on Walcott to give away the spot kick and then leaving the winger completely unmarked just a minute later. The left-back is having a game to forget, but so far he has been bailed out.

Mignolet was the first to bail Moreno out with that penalty save, but he also owes thanks to Coutinho, who levelled things up right on the stroke of half time. The Brazilian won the free kick himself, albeit a rather soft one, and then proceeded to produce a perfect effort right into the corner. Cech went for it, but there was nothing he could do about it as the ball nestled into the back of the net to send the two sides into the break all square.

Aside from the penalty and the goal, Arsenal haven't created many clear chances, with Ramsey having a couple of efforts that came to nothing. They have been the better side, though, closing Liverpool down well high up the pitch and preventing the Reds from playing their usual game. The Reds have been unable to string many good passes together, and have also been forced into far more misplaced or backward passes than they would like.

There have been sights of goal for the visitors, though, most of which have fallen the way of Firmino. He has fired a couple of efforts off target, while Cech has been called into a couple of fairly routine saves to deny Wijnaldum and Clyne. There hasn't really been any rhythm to Liverpool's play, though, and Arsenal have so far coped well despite their defensive injury problems.

KICKOFF: Arsenal get us back underway for the second half here as they look to make a winning start to the 2016-17 Premier League season.

Better start to the second half from Liverpool as they see more of the ball and look to get on the front foot. Arsenal are looking quite solid at the back, though.

Liverpool have turned this one around either side of half time! They take the lead for the first time in the match, and it is a really well-taken goal too. Coutinho sparks the attack with a clever ball around the corner for Wijnaldum, who stands up a cross towards Lallana on the edge of the box. He chests it down well, taking him past a defender in the process, before controlling his finish past Cech.

Well, having been the better team in the first half, Arsenal suddenly find themselves behind just five minutes into the second. The concern for the Gunners now will be whether Liverpool will be quite as poor in the coming 40 minutes or so as they were in the opening 45.

Liverpool have a good chance to counter again here, with Mane collecting the ball in an advanced position. Lallana is busting a gut to get up in support, but Mane uses him as a decoy runner before seeing his effort blocked.

This is much, much better from Liverpool now. They are knocking the ball around nicely and Arsenal can't get their foot on it at the moment. Liverpool are playing with so much more confidence and look the most likely to get the next goal now.

Liverpool have completely turned this game on its head, and Coutinho has been right at the heart of it. In the space of 10 minutes playing time, Liverpool have gone from one down to 3-1, and this is another brilliant goal. The visitors knock the ball about for what seems like an age before working it out to Clyne, who delivers a low, driven cross into the middle. Coutinho meets it and expertly steers his finish into the corner.

CHANCE! Cech has just kept Arsenal in this match! It is almost a hat-trick for Coutinho as he gets on the end of Firmino's pass after the latter had toyed with the Arsenal defence a bit. Cech makes a really smart save to deny Coutinho, though, while Bellerin makes a crucial tackle to deny Lallana from the rebound.

ARSENAL SUB: Arsenal make the first change of the match as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Iwobi, who limps off.

ARSENAL SUB: More injury concern for Arsenal here as Ramsey limps off with what looks like a hamstring problem. On comes Santi Cazorla in his place.

That is surely game over now?! It is another magnificent goal from the visitors, and this time it is a fine solo effort. Mane races on to a ball down the right and burns the defenders for pace. He then cuts inside, beats a couple of defenders and then picks out the top corner with a fine finish.

Maybe it's not game over! Arsenal respond by pulling a goal back immediately, and it is another really good solo effort. This one comes from Oxlade-Chamberlain who skips between two Liverpool players and drills a low strike that takes a slight deflection on its way past Mignolet.

Well, after Mane's goal there were jeers from the Arsenal fans and chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' aimed at Wenger. Now, however, the atmosphere has quickly changed with that Oxlade-Chamberlain goal.

ARSENAL SUB: A third and final change for the Gunners, and it is a Premier League debut for Granit Xhaka as he replaces Elneny.

Very strange one here as Firmino looks to play Coutinho clean through on goal, but just as he is running on to the ball he stops. He then starts again but can't get there, before going down with what seems like cramp. That looked like a very good chance for the hat-trick, and I'm not entirely sure what happened!

LIVERPOOL SUB: Whatever happened, it has riled Coutinho out for the rest of this game. He limps off to be replaced by Emre Can.

We should be in for an exciting final 20 minutes or so here. Liverpool have been brilliant since half time and looked to have wrapped the game up with that fourth goal, but Oxlade-Chamberlain's immediate reply has kept this one interesting.

Disappointing effort from Cazorla as he collects the ball in space around 25 yards from goal. He immediately looks to go for goal, but fires his effort high over the crossbar.

Well, we thought there would be goals and this game has not disappointed! It is 4-3 with 15 minutes remaining as Chambers gets Arsenal right back in the game. A free kick is swung into the middle and the centre-back gets the faintest of touches to just glance it into the bottom corner. Game on!

LIVERPOOL SUB: Another change for the visitors sees Divock Origi come on in place of Lallana.

Just over 10 minutes remaining in this one now, and I really would not like to call it! Liverpool were looking dangerous every time they went forward earlier in the half, but right now it is Arsenal who carry the greater threat having come back from 4-1 down.

The defensive capabilities of these two sides were some of the biggest questions heading into the new season, and neither look to have sorted them out here. It is brilliant for the neutral, but championships are won on a sturdy defence and neither of these sides have shown that today.

There has just been a small lull in proceedings here, which is perhaps to be expected and certainly suits Liverpool. However, I would be very surprised if there isn't a late siege from the Gunners in the final five minutes or so.

CLOSE! Liverpool are close to a fifth as Wijnaldum pounces on to a loose ball and gives the ball to Firmino. The Brazilian powers a shot towards the top corner, but it lashes into the side-netting having taken a slight deflection.

YELLOW CARD! Xhaka is the latest player in the book for a clumsy, and perhaps cynical, foul on Wijnaldum.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Another change from Liverpool as Kevin Stewart comes on to replace Wijnaldum for the closing stages.

There will be FIVE minutes of added time at the end of this incredible match!

SHOT! It is Liverpool who have come closest to scoring since Arsenal's third, and they counter again to good effect here. Henderson has the eventual effort, but it deflects over the top.

Wow. What a start to the season for both Arsenal and Liverpool that was! Goals galore greeted the opener, but it is Liverpool who will go away with the points courtesy of a magnificent 4-3 victory over the Gunners. It was by no means a perfect performance from Klopp's side, but they showcased some of the attacking talent that makes them such a dangerous team when they are on form. Arsenal did well to fight back into it from 4-1 down, but ultimately fell short and left the field to boos from the home fans.

The drama really began just before the half-hour mark when Moreno gave away a rash penalty for a foul on Walcott, although the Arsenal winger saw his spot kick saved by Mignolet. Walcott needed just 68 seconds to atone for that though, breaking the deadlock shortly afterwards with a clinical finish into the bottom corner. The two sides would go into the break level courtesy of a stunning Coutinho free kick, though, and that sparked a blitz from the visitors in the second half. Lallana, Coutinho and Mane added quickfire goals in the 20 minutes after half time to put the Reds in control, and that proved to be enough despite Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chambers making things interesting.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for a thriller on the opening weekend as Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-3 at the Emirates. If that is a sign of things to come then we are in for an exciting campaign, and I recommend you take a peek at our match report to recap on an incredible, topsy-turvy affair. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!