IF, as the old adage goes, a successful manager truly is a lucky manager, then the transformation at Anfield during the past year was further underlined at the weekend.

Twelve months ago, Roy Hodgson was on the brink of an opening-day win over Arsenal when, calamity of calamities, Pepe Reina bundled the ball into the Liverpool net for a last-gasp equaliser.

On Saturday, however, it was Kenny Dalglish’s side who were the beneficiaries of an own goal against the Gunners that helped propel them towards their first win of the new campaign.

A small detail in a long season, maybe. But it’s such minutiae that can often prove a catalyst and provide momentum to a fledgling team. One that Hodgson rarely enjoyed, and one successor Dalglish will claim his team earned.

He’d be right, as Liverpool eventually made the most of an outstanding opportunity to secure their first-ever triumph at the Emirates and end an 11-year wait for victory at Arsenal.

This was a big win. The spluttering opening draw against Sunderland rightly asked serious questions about pre-season preparations, as well as intensifying the spotlight on the influx of new players.

With Arsenal the most vulnerable to drop out of the Champions League qualification berths, it was a fixture Liverpool dare not lose, even at this early stage of the campaign.

Thankfully, Dalglish’s men capitalised on the uncharacteristic disarray afflicting the Gunners to increase the heat on beleaguered Arsene Wenger and ease the worries of a fretful fanbase.

While Arsenal would no doubt contend they gifted the points to the visitors – they were reduced to 10 men when Emmanuel Frimpong was dismissed eight minutes before Aaron Ramsey’s decisive 78th-minute own goal – Liverpool would rightly counter they had earned their luck.