Premier League News: Jurgen Klopp reckons Liverpool 'broke' Arsenal physically, praises the Reds' intensity

What's the story?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised his team's unrelenting intensity during their win over Arsenal last weekend, claiming that the Reds physically "broke" Unai Emery's side.

In case you didn't know...

Liverpool secured an emphatic 3-1 win over Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday as they continued their winning streak in the Premier League this campaign.

Mohamed Salah hogged the limelight as he scored a brace to put himself back in the race for what could be a third Premier League Golden Boot. Joel Matip opened the scoring for the Champions League winners as the hosts gave little room for the Arsenal defenders to breathe.

Liverpool fired a total of 25 shots, which is more than double of what Arsenal managed throughout the game. The statistic comes as no surprise as the north London team saw their players dispossessed in their own defensive third eight times in the first half alone.

Arsenal gave their record signing Nicolas Pepe his first start but he was deployed in a position he has never played before, and his brilliant flashes were often overshadowed by their opponents' immense tenacity.

The heart of the matter

Klopp has hailed the Reds' physical dominance over the Gunners, stating that his side has re-established their identity with their performance on Sunday.

The German said in his post-match press conference,

"The intention was to be us – just be us. Our identity is intensity, and the intensity we put into the game was really incredible.

"An opponent of the quality of Arsenal, you have to break somehow. Break them physically, yes. And we did. I said at half-time to the boys ‘how do you think they feel?’ It was such an intense first half there was no time to breathe."

He further addressed Emery's tactics during the game saying,

"I had no clue about their tactics, to be honest. I saw their teamsheet and thought it could be a diamond, but I didn’t think they would play Pepe in a different position in his first game. No matter. We can improve, but 80 percent of our game I am completely happy with."

What's next?

Arsenal are next scheduled to host Tottenham Hotspur in a much-awaited north London derby on Sunday.