It was billed as a crucial game for Arsenal at the Emirates.

The Gunners desperately needed to turn up against a Liverpool side buoyed by their 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth in their last game, but in the opening half at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger's side were torn apart by the visitors. 

The likes of Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino terrorised the makeshift defence and just before the half hour make, they took a deserved lead.

Coutinho was the man to get it, looping a head over Petr Cech after Salah's cross was conveniently deflected into the Brazilian's pass off of Laurent Koscielny.

It was pretty shameful how open the Gunners were at the back and it turns out the midfield pairing of Jack Wilshere and Granit Xhaka played a key role in the move.

Just watch the footage below and see how both Arsenal men completely leave Coutinho free and then are left chasing him back.

Spoiler alert, they don't catch him.

VIDEO

Yeah, that really isn't great play from the Arsenal boys.

There, of course, was a stroke of luck about Wilshere slipping, but the fact that Xhaka - the player who's supposed to be deeper - was way ahead of the play, they can only blame themselves.

The opening stages of the game revealed once again how desperately the Gunners need some central midfielder reinforcements in January.

Xhaka simply isn't the answer and if the likes of Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey have any chance of succeeding in the future, they will need a more pragmatic entity next to them.