Arsenal Vs Liverpool: 5 things we learned – Emery era starts now

Arsenal hosted Liverpool on Saturday evening in a critical Premier League tilt. Here are five things we learned from the riveting 1-1 draw.

There aren’t many Arsenal fans that, if offered, would have turned down a draw against unbeaten Liverpool. But as their team strode off the pitch, a dominant performance in their back pocket, roused by an uncharacteristically raucous Emirates, you could not help but sense a tinge of disappointment and regret. Great pride at the performance, but also a case of what could have been.

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Here are five things we learned from the enthralling 1-1 draw.

5. Maligned and misunderstood impress

There is a collection of players in the Arsenal squad that have been largely maligned and misunderstood in recent years: Hector Bellerin at right back; Shkodran Mustafi at centre-half; and Granit Xhaka in central midfield. All three played all 90 minutes here. Each was excellent.

Bellerin was working through a thigh problem that had prevented him from training all week. Up against Saido Mane, he was disciplined, committed, quick and offensively minded, but only at the right times. Bellerin was joined by Mustafi in the defence, the German providing one of his exemplary performances that, every now and then, he seems to be able to produce.

And then there was Xhaka, right at the heart of the midfield. He was, in fact, right at the heart of everything Arsenal did all night long. I have been critical of Xhaka in the past. But this was the best performance that I have ever seen from him, and against a team that would typically provide him with real difficulty. These three were central to Arsenal’s excellent collective showing. They are proving their detractors wrong.