3 positives & negatives as Arsenal stutter in Premier League title race

After racing into a first-half 2-0 lead, Arsenal were eventually pegged back by Liverpool as the hosts secured a 2-2 draw to blow the Premier League title race wide open. 

It was a game for the ages with plenty of goals, late drama, tension and even a missed penalty. For the neutral, it was undoubtedly a classic. However, from an Arsenal perspective, the match conjured up a wide array of mixed feelings. Here are three positives and negatives from the encounter.

 3 positives and negatives from 2-2 with Liverpool

Positive #1: A point away at Anfield

Irrespective of Liverpool’s form coming into this game, a point away at Anfield should never be frowned upon. Both Manchester City and Manchester United have suffered defeats this season at the stadium, so while the result is disappointing, we should be proud of the team.

If it was not for the sheer brilliance of City, a draw away at Liverpool would widely be considered an impressive result during a run-in of this nature, and for a side who have notoriously found points of any kind difficult to come by at Anfield over the last decade, a point is indicative of progress, regardless of the circumstances.

Negative #1: Anfield curse continues

With that being said, the draw does unfortunately mean that our Anfield curse will continue for yet another season. The Gunners have failed to record a victory away at Liverpool since 2012 – a remarkable statistic given the stature of Arsenal football club.

This match, especially after we stormed into the lead, was a massive opportunity for the side to finally secure a much-needed victory in Merseyside, but as many teams have before, Mikel Arteta’s men were overcome by the famous Kop.

After the game, Arteta admitted that the atmosphere at Anfield is a huge asset to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

"“When you look back at what they’ve done to big teams, including this season, they are an exceptional team. And they are a very, very difficult team to dominate for 90 minutes. At any moment, they can shift that momentum and create a game that they want.”"

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Positive #2: A quick start

Another positive from the draw was the incredibly quick start the Gunners made to the game. For the first opening 30 minutes or so, we dominated the match and always looked in control of the tie, in, our indeed out of, possession.

Truthfully, we seemed destined to take the lead and when Gabriel Jesus scored the second, Arteta would likely have been thrilled with his side’s performance. Of course, a match is decided by far more than just the opening stages, as we later found out, but the fact that we are able to dominate sides of Liverpool’s calibre away from home is a promising sign in such a young team.

Negative #2: Losing control of the match

As many have alluded to, the home crowd at Anfield can swallow up the opposition players at any given moment, especially when so many of our players are incredibly young. But, that does not make the fact that we lost control of the match in the closing stages of the first half any less frustrating.

One moment we were in the driving seat, and the next, we were on the back foot. The shift was almost immediate and the players were unable to stop it. The catalyst appeared to be Granit Xhaka’s skirmish with Trent Alexander-Arnold, although I am unwilling to place the blame solely on one player.

As the boss suggested after the game, we had opportunities after that incident to once again silence the home crowd but failed to do so.

"“We had a big chance after that. If we’d scored to make it 3-0, maybe the crowd doesn’t get too excited but after that, they scored a goal and that changes the momentum and the hope.”"

Ultimately, this experience will only help the younger players handle hostile environments better in the future and may well benefit the side in the long run.

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Positive #3: Aaron Ramsdale

All hail Aaron Ramsadale. Any Ramsdale doubters that still existed were silenced in this match.

When the club signed the 24-year-old at the start of the 2021/22 campaign, many eyebrows were raised, mine included. After all, this was a goalkeeper who had just suffered back-to-back relegations from the Premier League.

However, the English shot-stopper quickly won over the Arsenal fanbase and his display against Liverpool confirmed that he could be relied upon in the big games. Producing three incredible saves, first against Darwin Nunez, second against Mohamed Salah and then stopping Ibrahima Konate to make it three, Ramsdale was arguably the reason we avoided defeat at Anfield.

According to The xG Philosophy, Liverpool accumulated an expected goals figure of 4.76 by the time the final whistle sounded, which demonstrates just how well Ramsdale performed.

Negative #3: Manchester City handed initiative in the title race

As I mentioned before, a point at Anfield can never be looked down upon, but the result does mean that the Premier League title race is now in Manchester City’s hands. Pep Guardiola’s side now know that if they are able to win all of their remaining fixtures, they will be crowned Premier League champions, regardless of our results.

The one caveat to that of course is that the title is also still in our hands too. As long as we avoid defeat at the Etihad, and at least match their results before that game, we will regain full control of the title race.

As it stands at this current moment in time, however, City are the masters of their own destiny, and that is a scenario that Arteta would have been desperate to avoid.