At the end of it all, Arsenal’s title challenge was still intact: in theory. In reality, after 20 minutes their pretensions had been utterly exposed by an extraordinary Liverpool performance that ranks alongside the best produced by anyone this season.

In the most stunning and shocking half of the season so far, Liverpool not only dismantled Arsenal, they gave a glimpse of the possibilities they might achieve under Brendan Rodgers. Fourth place is assumed to be their target, yet this hinted at much greater potential in future.

Rodgers insisted later that they were not ready for the title race and he is doubtless right; there are frailties, especially in defence, that might be exploited and they do not have a squad to match the top three.

Still, play like this again and few teams will live with them.

‘It was a wonderful performance in such a prestigious game,’ said Rodgers. ‘The performance level was out of this world and it’s another marker for us that we’re improving all the time. But we’re just trying to finish as high as we can. This year was going to be another big step in our development.’

Liverpool’s performance was peppered with outstanding individual efforts. Raheem Sterling was stunning in front of England assistant manager Ray Lewington.

‘He was incredible,’ said Rodgers. ‘I don’t think there’s a better winger in England at the moment.’

Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho simply overwhelmed Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere.

Rodgers, too, had a good day; tactically he outwitted Arsene Wenger, with Sterling on the left proving a test too far for Bacary Sagna, while Nacho Monreal up against Luis Suarez on the right was a painful mismatch. Sterling coming inside frequently exposed Per Mertesacker, leaving Laurent Koscielny adrift. A previously assured back four looked an utter shambles.

Of course, the title race is not over for Arsenal if they can prove this is a rogue result, but the worry is that old demons seem to be returning. These calamities have been familiar in recent seasons but they seemed to have been eradicated. Even 6-3 at Manchester City was not like this.

Mesut Ozil was dreadful and at fault for two goals. When Arsenal went 3-0 down on 17 minutes, no one — not Mertesacker, nor Arteta — attempted to rally the team. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shook his head in disbelief but otherwise they were speechless and expressionless, seemingly bereft of leadership.

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke had turned up to watch an away game, a rare event in itself. He will not be rushing back over from Denver anytime soon. He sat impassively in his seat as the nightmare unfolded.

For Wenger the task of rebuilding confidence starts now, with Manchester United going to The Emirates on Wednesday. Arsenal face Liverpool again in the FA Cup on Sunday and some — Ozil and Monreal perhaps — might apply for leave of absence. Then come European champions Bayern Munich.

Liverpool produced the most frenetic flurry of attacking football seen this season and it does not help if you fall 1-0 down in 53 seconds. From the first free-kick, Steven Gerrard delivered one of those teasing crosses into football’s equivalent of the corridor of uncertainty.

Daniel Sturridge looked offside as he made a run but it was Martin Skrtel who connected, turning the ball past Wojciech Szczesny.

Set-pieces were a disaster for Arsenal all afternoon. A Gerrard corner on 10 minutes saw Skrtel, this time from the edge of the box, power a terrific header into the top corner, with Laurent Koscielny making a token effort to get tight.

Seven further minutes passed and Ozil’s first awful moment came, losing the ball in Liverpool’s half, as Henderson powered forward to find Luis Suarez. His cross for Sterling to convert at the far post was immaculate. The fourth came from Sturridge two minutes later, as Ozil’s pass found Coutinho and the midfielder sprinted downfield before finding his team-mate to finish.

Even that did not do justice to Liverpool’s dominance. Sturridge should have scored when played in by Suarez, while the Uruguayan’s incredible volley on 14 minutes struck a post and Kolo Toure put the rebound wide of an open goal.

Sterling turned Mertesacker on 52 minutes to sprint away and score the fifth after Szczesny blocked his first try. Suarez then struck a free kick that Szczesny tipped away.

On 70 minutes, Gerrard mistimed a tackle on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arteta tucked a penalty away. Even in the closing minutes, Sterling might have had a hat-trick and with the last kick Aly Cissokho shot across the goal. It had been a sustained assault on Arsenal, who were utterly unable to resist.

—Daily Mail