Oct 27, 2024, 07:14 PM

LONDON — Arsenal slipped further off the pace in the Premier League title race by twice throwing away the lead in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at the Emirates on Sunday. Mikel Arteta’s team, who have finished runners-up to Manchester City in each of the past two season, are now five points adrift of Pep Guardiola’s side.

Bukayo Saka had given Arsenal a ninth-minute lead after embarrassing Liverpool full-back Andrew Robertson to score, and Mikel Merino restored the Gunners’ lead with a 43rd-minute header after Virgil van Dijk had equalised on 17 minutes. Mohamed Salah‘s 81st-minute equaliser finally secured a point for the visitors.

What was already a disappointing day for Arsenal was further tarnished by centre-back Gabriel Magalhães limping out of the game on 54 minutes with a suspected knee injury.

Liverpool show resilience to pass first big test

Arne Slot has repeatedly said that his Liverpool team cannot be judged until they have faced a big test against a big opponent, but the Reds’ manager will now know that his side have resilience in abundance after fighting back twice to earn a draw at Arsenal. Last Sunday’s Anfield win against Chelsea was a test against an improving team, but the trip to the Emirates was the first time Liverpool faced an opponent occupying a top-five spot this season.

The reality is that Arsenal were the better team and the one that displayed most creativity and carried the greater threat. Despite that, though, and despite Arsenal twice taking the lead, Liverpool still emerged with a point that enables them to stay ahead of the Gunners as Manchester City’s closest challengers at the top of the table.

Slot’s Liverpool are a different proposition to Jürgen Klopp’s team — the side the German called his “Mentality Monsters.” They play a more disciplined 4-3-3 formation and midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister occupy the defensive slots in front of the back four. As a consequence, they are tougher to beat, but the flip side is that Slot’s Liverpool lack the fantasy of his predecessor’s side.

After nine games in charge, though, Slot’s team are second in the table and just one point behind champions City. They lost at the Emirates last season when they were too open, but Slot has bolted the back door a little tighter, and he is getting his rewards.

This was another test passed. — Mark Ogden

Arsenal’s patched-up defence collapses

William Saliba played every single minute of Arsenal’s Premier League campaign last season. His absence here — the product of a red card against AFC Bournemouth — posed Arteta a new problem in reshuffling his defence.

The Gunners boss opted to partner Ben White with Gabriel at centre-back while midfielder Thomas Partey started at right-back and Jurriën Timber recovered from a muscular problem to begin at left-back.

That quartet — Arsenal’s sixth different back four in nine league games — coped admirably in the circumstances, but Arsenal’s problems deepened in the second half. Gabriel was forced off nine minutes after the restart and later returned to the dugout to watch the rest of the game with his left leg heavily strapped.

The last Premier League match in which neither Gabriel nor Saliba was on the field was the final four minutes of Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace in March 2023.

Jakub Kiwior was introduced, but Liverpool stepped up their search for an equaliser, and Timber — starting his first game for 26 days — faded, forcing the introduction of teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly. Salah’s equaliser came down that flank. Darwin Núñez evaded Lewis-Skelly and Kiwior got caught out of position as Salah darted infield to equalise.

Saliba will return from suspension, but Arsenal’s defence — so often a stable and reliable composition in recent seasons — is being tested to the limit at present. — James Olley

Salah’s goal illustrates what he does best

Salah’s 81st-minute equaliser for Liverpool was a classic example of what he does best — and also a hint to Slot that he needs give the forward more scope to do it. Slot’s Liverpool play a more rigid formation than Klopp’s free-flowing side, and the downside of that approach is that it has taken away the freedom that Salah enjoyed under Slot’s predecessor.

Against Arsenal, the 32-year-old spent virtually the whole game on the right of the Liverpool front three and he played to instructions by occupying the right flank of the pitch when the team went forward. At times, he cut a frustrated figure, looking like nothing more than a standard right winger obediently staying in his position and ensuring that the team shape remained solid.

The beauty of Salah, though, is his ability to cut inside or roam freely across the forward line. Think of all the great goals he has scored for Liverpool, and so many have been when he has glided off the wing and scored with an unstoppable left-foot shot.

At the Emirates, he did that once and it led to a crucial goal that earned a point for Liverpool.

When Núñez chased a ball down the right, Salah cut inside, attacked the space and waited for his teammate to deliver the pass. Núñez laid it on a plate for Salah, who scored once again to make a big impact for Liverpool. — Ogden

Arteta’s secret Saka plan pays off

Arteta is often evasive when answering pre-match team news questions, but the north London club went to special lengths in keeping Saka’s availability under wraps.

Arteta claimed on Friday lunchtime that the England winger had not trained as of that point, casting strong doubt over his chances of recovering from a hamstring injury in time to face Liverpool. However, behind the scenes, Arsenal had been increasingly hopeful throughout the week that Saka could play some part and went to the unusual step of training at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

It is the first time they have done so since April, and sources suggest part of the thinking was to ensure the likely team stayed a closely guarded secret with only minimal staff allowed access to the stadium during the session.

Saka proved his fitness and started the game, beating Robertson with ease to score the opening goal after nine minutes. Aged 23 years and 52 days, Saka became the youngest Arsenal player ever to score 50 Premier League goals, and he hit that milestone while wearing the captain’s armband.

His importance to Arsenal cannot be overstated, especially with Martin Odegaard still sidelined, and Saka once again delivered when it mattered.

He was replaced with five minutes to go, shortly after Salah’s second-half equaliser. Saka would never normally come off in such circumstances, perhaps underlining just how much of a risk it was for him to play in the first place. — Olley

Liverpool have a double full-back problem

Liverpool might need to replace two full-backs next summer rather than just one. All the focus right now is on Trent Alexander-Arnold and whether the right-back will sign a new contract at Anfield, but there are growing question marks over Robertson at left-back, too. This game at the Emirates suggested both could soon be phased out.

Robertson, who arrived at Liverpool in a bargain £10 million transfer from Hull City in 2017, has been as integral to the team’s success in recent years as Alexander-Arnold on the opposite flank. The two defenders have been Liverpool’s full-backs now for almost seven years.

They were both poor at the Emirates, though, and it is surely a valid question to ask whether they are suited to the way Slot wants his team to play.

Alexander-Arnold, 26, has had to temper his attacking instincts to fit Slot’s system, but his defensive qualities have always been the weakest element of his game and he struggled against Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, especially in the first half. With so much scrutiny on his future and whether he will sign a contract that would almost certainly make him the club’s top earner, Alexander-Arnold needs to show more defensively to prove not only that he is worth the investment, but that he is Slot’s best option in that position.

Robertson is four years older than Alexander-Arnold and it is beginning to show. The Scotland international was easily outdone by Saka for Arsenal’s opening goal and he had a rocky afternoon before being replaced by Kostas Tsimikas just after the hour mark.

Liverpool need a new long-term solution at left-back, but from a football perspective, they might also decide to cut their losses by finding a new right-back, too. — Ogden

Set pieces are Arsenal’s strength — and also their weakness

Arsenal have rightly been lauded as one of the finest exponents of set pieces in English football, but for the second consecutive weekend, they were undone when defending a corner.

After Bournemouth broke the deadlock against the Gunners with a well-worked routine of their own, Liverpool achieved first-half parity with another clever effort of their own. Alexander-Arnold swung the ball into the near post where Kai Havertz was beaten in the air by Luis Díaz before Van Dijk nodded in.

Havertz was also caught out in a similar position against Bournemouth. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton have conceded more goals from set pieces than the Gunners in the Premier League this season.

And yet, they remain potent at the other end. Declan Rice‘s superbly whipped 43rd-minute delivery found Merino, who produced a powerful header to restore the home side’s advantage. It is the 27th goal Arsenal have scored from dead-ball situations since the beginning of last season — a league high. — Olley