Five Key Takeaways from Arsenal's draw with Liverpool 

It was a flat night but Arsenal are six points clear and the games are ticking by says Gooner Fanzine print columnist Charlie Ashmore 

1 - A missed opportunity……

Imagine you are Manchester City.  You have just dropped six points in three games. You watch the team you are trying to catch play a significantly depleted Liverpool. You expect to go eight points behind. 

Instead you watch a strangely passive performance and end the evening just six points behind.  "We will beat them at our place" you think. So the gap is only three points. 

We have better goal difference (remembering we will have improved the position by beating them) so they are only 2.5 points ahead in reality. That's nothing. 

What's my point? 

My point is that a title chase has many elements, but the psychological aspect is a huge one and I just hope that our missed opportunity last night does not prove to be a moment that just opened the door for City.

2 - A worrying performance

That second 45 minutes was, not to put too fine a point on it, terrible. Our worst 45 of the season possibly. We were so passive. Even in the first half when we probably had the better of the game without really threatening, we were surprisingly off it out of possession in particular. 

On one occasion, Martin Odegaard was trying to instigate the press but Viktor Gyokeres and Leo Trossard were slow to join…in fact didn't join despite his exhortations. There was another occasion when Piero Hincapie went for the press but looked around him and our midfielders were rooted in indecision. 

Time and again as Liverpool played out they had a man over and we never got to grips with it. Our passing was off. Our long balls never stuck. Our short balls were picked off. It felt like we simply gave Liverpool the game for the middle hour or so and we were powerless to intervene. 

3 - Gyokeres and the forward line

Kai Havertz cannot come back into the team quickly enough for me. Gyokeres has to be taken out of the front line for now for his own sake. He is simply not involved enough and games are just passing him by.

Erling Haaland has been mocked for his limited touches in matches but that is in the context of him scoring goals for fun. 

Gyokeres right now is not delivering in any meaningful sense.   

There is an argument that he has been unfortunate this season in being forced ot be our leader of the line for the whole season so far when the intention had been to use him and Havertz in rotation according to the needs of the matches and their particular skillsets. 

He has had to do that on the back of an incomplete pre-season. And, he is something completely new to this Arsenal team and he and the rest are having to acclimatise to each other in the full glare of matchday headlights. 

But…..he's a big boy and has to take responsibility for his own performances. 

The most worrying feature for me is that he has yet to show a goalscorer's instinct – not least when balls are fired across the penalty area – balls which goalscorers should relish and attack. 

Too often, (every time?) he is on his heels. Let's be clear we would not be where we are in the table if we were a ten man team carrying a passenger. 

He has been part of the team that has got us to that position so he is undoubtedly making a contribution - but his purpose is to score and he just doesn't look like it currently. 

I still believe it will come but right now, we need another option.

4 - Gabi Martinelli and timewasting

In the cold light of day, Gabi Martinelli's actions towards the injured Conor Bradley do not look good. 

He has already been quick to express regret and apologise. 

I have to say Arne Slot was admirably on the money when he spoke about it afterwards refusing to be drawn into a witchhunt.

I understand both Gary Neville and Roy Keane on Sky embarrassed themselves in that regard – Sky is increasingly the TV equivalent of Talksport – clickbait coverage. (See Gooner editor Layth's Substack this morning for his scathing take on the United pair here)

In Martinelli doing what he did he highlighted a major concern in the game which is the time wasting and in particular the feigning of injuries. 

Referees cannot know for sure whether a player is genuinely injured or not and have to err on the side of caution. 

So what solutions are there? 

We could try the rugby approach and just let physios come on while the game goes on around them. It's easy to see though how that could lead to issues particularly if the injured player is in a penalty area. 

The easiest solution is of course already within the gift of referees and that is to make dammed sure every second of the time lost is added on. Anthony Taylor is a repeat culprit. 

Watch him in the last few minutes of a game when the goalkeeper is dallying over a goalkick. He pointedly faces the other direction refusing to stare the timewasting in the face and thereby fails even to acknowledge let alone deal with it. 

That only two minutes were added on in the first half was laughable, and it was made worse by the fact that as 45 minutes ticked out, a Liverpool player was down and play restarted 57 seconds into the two minutes. 

Yet Taylor blew immediately after 120 seconds had elapsed.

Time wasting will continue for as long as it is rewarded. And players will react like Gabi did when chasing a game. 

Very occasionally, the player they react to will be genuinely injured. 

So….get as grip PGMOL (and how often have those words been uttered in vain?)

5 - It was a flat night but……we are six points clear and the games are ticking by

Is there an Arsenal fan out there who would not have taken this position at the start of the season? 

We are in a fantastic position. Overall we are there deservedly. 

We appear less vulnerable than the chasers and our squad is a beast.  I have said before that the only team that can stop us this season is us.  

That remains the case for me. 

We need to stand tall, recognise our elite level defensive strength, and focus as we have done so far match by match on getting the results. 

Teams hate playing us because we are horrible to play against. 

That we weren't last night simply reflects an off night not a falling of standards generally – at least we must make sure that is the case. 

Our squad is all but full again. 

We have played the tougher half of our fixture list. 

We are in an excellent position. But the hard work starts now.