HAD it not been for Dominik Szoboszlai’s freekick stunner, Arsenal might have reflected on a job well done at Anfield on Sunday. Mikel Arteta set up his team to contain Liverpool and the Gunners certainly did this, restricting the defending Premier League champions to just 0.52 Expected Goals (xG). At no point, though, did Arsenal truly impose their own game.

Arsenal played with the handbrake on. While Arteta’s set-up limited Liverpool, it also contributed to the Gunners struggling for attacking threat. Arsenal generated just 0.49 xG and failed to create a single Big Chance, leaving Anfield without ever showing what they are capable of in the opposition half.

Of course, this is a familiar tale for Arsenal under Arteta. While the Spaniard worked under Pep Guardiola as an assistant at Manchester City, he is more like peak-level Jose Mourinho in terms of how he views the game. Arteta wants control over anything else, and this often veers too far into caution in the biggest matches.

In 15 league matches against Liverpool and Manchester City, Arsenal under Arteta have yet to register a single win. For many of those 15 league matches, Liverpool and Manchester City were simply better. They have shared the last eight Premier League titles. Sunday, though, was an opportunity for the Gunners.

 

Liverpool might have nine points from a possible nine, but they have looked vulnerable to start the season. Late goals were required against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, with both opponents able to expose the Reds’ defensive deficiencies by matching them for intensity and attacking ambition.

Arsenal could have done something similar. Arteta could have started Eberechi Eze over Gabriel Martinelli to give his team more creativity in possession closer to the Liverpool goal. He could have set up the Gunners to put Liverpool under more pressure higher up the pitch. He could have been much bolder.

“It was going to be decided by an individual error or a moment of magic,” said Arteta after the 1-0 loss. “You cannot dominate here for 90 minutes; it is impossible. At the end of the game, I said we have to find a way to win these big matches. You have to put the ball in the back of the net when you have it. We were much better than last year, much better. We have to put the ball in the back of the net if you want to win the game.”

Arteta and new sporting director Andrea Bertra spent much of the summer transfer window building out Arsenal’s attacking options. They signed Noni Madueke to offer cover on the wings. Eze arrived to give the Gunners a different dimension with his dribbling. Most notably, Viktor Gyokeres was brought in as an orthodox number nine, something Arsenal had lacked.

 

Theoretically, Arsenal now have more ways to score goals than at any other point of Arteta’s tenure, but that wasn’t evident in the way the Gunners played against Liverpool on Sunday. This performance, coupled with the cautious display against Manchester United on the opening weekend, has contributed to a sense of this season being more of the same.

Even if Arsenal had escaped Anfield with a point, there is a flaw in Arteta’s masterplan. In these times of 90 points or more regularly being the requirement to win a Premier League title, the Gunners need more than just draws against their closest rivals. They need to learn how to land a punch.

It’s still early in the season, and Arsenal could yet grow as a team over the course of the campaign. Arteta was without Bukayo Saka for Sunday’s match. Martin Odegaard was only fit enough for the bench. Eze hasn’t yet been fully integrated as a new signing, with Gyokeres still finding his feet. Sunday, however, was another reminder that Arsenal can’t win the title being so timid.

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