Positives & negatives from Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Liverpool

Arsenal restored some pride after a first-half nightmare that showed the gulf in class to Premier League champions Liverpool.

Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino rescued a point for Arsenal after champions Liverpool sprinted into a 2-0 lead thanks to Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz. Merino's red card and some shoddy defending were the negatives, but Martinelli's position switch and Martin Odegaard's resolve keyed a worthy fightback at Anfield on Sunday, May 11.

Liverpool were quicker, slicker and more aggressive for the opening 45 minutes. They moved the ball slickly and with purpose, while Arsenal chased shadows amid a disjointed midfield failing to protect an overworked back line.

Concentration levels were also lacking when the Gunners stood still from a quick recycle out of the box. Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson gleefully accepted the gift and attacked Arsenal with a teasing cross Gakpo hammered in with his head after 20 minutes.

The lead was thoroughly deserved and an overwhelmed Arsenal went two down barely a minute later. This time Mohamed Salah sent Dominik Szoboszlai racing clear of a bewildered Myles Lewis-Skelly to tee up Diaz.

For once, Mikel Arteta didn't stand still. He shifted Martinelli through the middle at half time, and that change made all the difference.

Martinelli got one back and kept Arsenal on the front foot, in tandem with Odegaard, who didn't go into hiding, but instead turned on the style and took a direct route to goal more than once. Like when his thunderous shot was touched onto the post to leave Merino to head into an empty net.

It was as good as it got for Merino and the Gunners.

Positives & negatives from Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Liverpool

Positive #1: Martinelli through the middle

It was only one half against a team with the title already won, but I'm sold. Martinelli belongs through the middle.

Arsenal's No. 11 proved where his future lies by elevating his side's threat level more than any tactical tweak or personnel reshuffle Arteta had made this season. Martinelli's presence in the centre-forward role gave Arsenal's players a target and Liverpool's central defenders a buzzing nuisance they couldn't ignore.

Martinelli succeeded leading the line because he has the natural instincts of a goalscorer. Instincts too often wasted out on the wing.

Those instincts showed up brilliantly less than five minutes after the restart, when Martinelli gave an object lesson in how to goal-hang. He lulled in front of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, before ghosting in between the pair via a perfectly timed movement to meet Leandro Trossard's cross.

His goal was the signature moment, but Martinelli continued to keep Liverpool's back four guessing with some clever, angled runs. Like when his sudden dart to meet Odegaard's slick reverse pass into the box drew an inch-perfect tackle from right-back Conor Bradley.

If those runs looked like the work of a true striker it's because that's what Martinelli is at heart. Finding more ways to put the Brazilian central, even if it means in partnership with another frontman, should be top of Arteta's to-do list this summer.

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