Gunners fail to extend gap at the top to eight points

Arsenal were travelling upwards towards the light, beyond that ceiling of second place that has been their fate for the past three seasons. Liverpool were heading down, fading ever further away from the great triumph of last season when they won the Premier League at a canter in Arne Slot’s first year in charge.

‘Home is where the heat is,’ a slogan on the big screen said, and the expectation was Liverpool would move meekly aside. That they would not hinder Arsenal’s progress. They were depleted by injuries and absences and a deficit of confidence. They know already that they will not retain their title.

But that did not happen. They did not move aside. Instead, Liverpool blocked Arsenal’s path to the eight-point lead at the top that victory would have given Mikel Arteta’s team. At first, they did it cautiously and stubbornly and then with more verve and an assurance that suggested they might win this game themselves and cut the 14-point advantage Arsenal had held over them at kick-off.

They could not force a winner and the game ended in the anti-climax of a goalless draw. It was far from a disaster for Arsenal. This was a draw to go with the five straight wins that preceded it. But it was a setback of sorts. Eight points would have given them insurance against nerves. Six points is not so emphatic, especially when it is Manchester City who are in second place.

What was left was a feeling of disappointment among the Arsenal fans. And something a little deeper. A feeling of unease. A feeling of disquiet that they could not force their way past a weakened Liverpool, an old, nagging fear that when it really comes to the crunch later this season, maybe all the old weaknesses will resurface.