Gunners fail to extend gap at the top to eight points

The rain fell hard and relentlessly, swirling in the floodlight glare, soaking the seats at the front of the stands, spawning an epidemic of ponchos. The bitter wind bit hard, leaving a contagion of shivers in its wake. And in the gloom of London’s midwinter, the champions-elect met the old champions on the stairs.

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.

There was precious little optimism among Liverpool ranks before the game. They were unbeaten in nine games but the butt of criticism from many supporters about the ponderous style of their play and missing Hugo Ekitike, Mo Salah and Alexander Isak up front.

That meant playing Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai as a pair of false nines, scurrying around, trying to close down Arsenal’s centre backs. Liverpool’s expectations seemed to be limited to trying to frustrate Arsenal attacks.

It felt a little bit like watching an FA Cup underdog come to town. Nor did it go unnoticed that Arsenal’s bench was groaning with quality whereas Liverpool’s looked threadbare despite their exorbitant summer spend.

The conditions took their toll on the quality of the action in the first 15 minutes. But then Bukayo Saka rose out of the tempest. First, he skipped past the challenge of Milos Kerkez on the Arsenal right and then tricked his way around Alexis Mac Allister on the Liverpool goalline. He pulled the ball back into the area but no one could apply the finishing touch.

A minute later, Saka threatened again. This time, he ran at Virgil van Dijk, who marshalled him better than Kerkez but could not prevent him unleashing a venomous low shot that skidded off the surface and was well held by Alisson.

Arsenal dominated play. Liverpool sat back in their own half, trying to soak up pressure, trying to limit the damage, seeming to accept that they were outgunned and that their best hope of salvaging anything from this game was an old-fashioned smash and grab raid.

That plan nearly bore fruit after 26 minutes. Conor Bradley burst forward down the inside right channel in a rare Liverpool foray forward but he overran it and William Saliba came across to intercept it and play it back to David Raya.

Except Raya did not anticipate the backpass. For an instant, it looked as if Saliba may have played the ball straight past his goalkeeper but Raya managed to shovel it out beyond the edge of the box. It fell straight to Bradley who lifted it brilliantly back over Raya from 25 yards only to see it crash against the face of the crossbar and bounce away to safety.

The game had warmed up now. Jeremie Frimpong led another breakaway and went down in a heap in the Arsenal box after catching his foot in the turf. Arsenal played on and nearly scored, Liverpool were furious that play had not been stopped and Van Dijk and Declan Rice were involved in an angry exchange.

Arsenal suffered another alarm two minutes into the second half when Wirtz weaved his way past one attempted tackle after another and then fell under a challenge from Leandro Trossard. Trossard did not get the ball but VAR decided that the challenge did not merit a penalty either.

The atmosphere inside the Emirates began to seethe with frustration. Trossard drove forward and played a pass towards Saka that would have left him with only Alisson to beat. Martin Zubimendi did not see Saka, though, and tried to take the pass himself, running it out of play. His intervention was met with a fusillade of groans.

Suddenly, the game had a different complexion. Now it was Arsenal pinned in their own half and unable to retain possession. Something needed to change: Arteta brought on Gabriel Jesus for Viktor Gyokeres, who had been anonymous. Liverpool responded with another Frimpong breakaway that deserved better than a poor final ball.

Gradually, the game ebbed away. The groans redoubled. Arsenal fans held their heads in their hands. And still the rain fell.