---
title: "Unsung Hero: Liverpool’s Fabinho impresses with a busy display against Arsenal"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/unsung-hero-liverpools-fabinho-impresses-with-a-busy-display-against-arsenal/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Liverpool Football Club"
published: "2019-08-26T16:05:11Z"
modified: "2019-08-26T16:05:11Z"
---

# Unsung Hero: Liverpool’s Fabinho impresses with a busy display against Arsenal

**After the first three weekends of Premier League action in 2019/20,** [**only Liverpool have a 100% record**](https://www.skysports.com/premier-league-table)**, the Reds maintaining their perfect start to the campaign with a** [**3-1 win over Arsenal**](https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-arsenal/408004) **on Saturday evening.**

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Unsung-heros.png)

Liverpool [dominated the first half with 11 shots to five](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1375966/Live/England-Premier-League-2019-2020-Liverpool-Arsenal) but survived a couple of scares from Arsenal on the break before taking the lead through Joel Matip’s header on 41 minutes. \[[via Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-arsenal/408004)\]

Two goals in the first 15 minutes after the interval from Mohamed Salah put Arsenal to the sword, the Egypt forward [converting a penalty and soon afterwards netting a sublime individual goal](https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-arsenal/408004) as Liverpool threatened a repeat of the [5-1 and 4-0 victories from this fixture in the previous two seasons](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49378898).

The Reds are [still waiting on their first clean sheet of the season](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/match/2019-20/first-team/fixtures-and-results), though, after second-half substitute [Lucas Torreira scored a consolation goal for the Gunners](https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-arsenal/408004) with five minutes remaining.

That was only a minor blemish on an excellent day for Jurgen Klopp’s men, though, and they [maintain a two-point lead on Manchester City](https://www.skysports.com/premier-league-table) after swatting aside a team who [also had a 100% record coming into this weekend](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/aug/23/liverpool-arsenal-match-preview).

Salah’s brace ultimately decided the game in Liverpool’s favour, although the man who set him up for his second goal of the evening gave a terrific yet unheralded performance.

Fabinho [played the final pass to Salah](https://www.thisisanfield.com/2019/08/liverpool-3-1-arsenal-player-ratings-2/) before the Egypt forward [left David Luiz trailing in his wake](https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-arsenal/408004) in a move that ended with him curling the ball beyond Bernd Leno for 3-0.

That was just one of 65 successful passes executed by the Brazil midfielder at Anfield on Saturday, with the 25-year-old ending the game with a 93% passing success rate and executing four key passes. \[[via WhoScored.com](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1375966/Live/England-Premier-League-2019-2020-Liverpool-Arsenal)\]

Nobody else in the Reds’ line-up completed more passes, while his 77 touches of the ball was the third-highest total for Liverpool behind full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson. \[[via WhoScored.com](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1375966/Live/England-Premier-League-2019-2020-Liverpool-Arsenal)\]

Fabinho won two tackles against the Gunners, as per [WhoScored.com](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1375966/Live/England-Premier-League-2019-2020-Liverpool-Arsenal), and gained possession for Liverpool six times in total, according to [LFCVine](https://twitter.com/LFCVine/status/1165332630998519810).

For [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11792817/liverpool-3-1-arsenal-player-ratings-mohamed-salah-shines-but-david-luiz-struggles), Gerard Brand noted how he provided “[a powerful, cool hand at the base of midfield](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11792817/liverpool-3-1-arsenal-player-ratings-mohamed-salah-shines-but-david-luiz-struggles)”, adding that he “[dropped into the defence from goal kicks, giving Liverpool another option to build from the back](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11792817/liverpool-3-1-arsenal-player-ratings-mohamed-salah-shines-but-david-luiz-struggles)”.

In [The Mirror](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-3-1-arsenal-player-19000073), David Maddock wrote that the midfielder “[read the game brilliantly and snuffed out most visiting threat](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-3-1-arsenal-player-19000073)”.

[Recalled to the starting XI](https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-arsenal/408004) after being [named among the substitutes at Southampton](https://www.skysports.com/football/soton-vs-liverpool/teams/407999) the previous week, Fabinho’s tremendous work on and off the ball against Arsenal should see him retain his place for the trip to Burnley next Saturday.

***Liverpool fans, were you impressed with Fabinho’s display against the Gunners? Give us your thoughts by commenting below!***