Arsenal a team on the up but Liverpool show what next level is all about

Liverpool's Diogo Jota scores Liverpool's first goal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.  Picture: John Walton/PA Wire.

Arsenal have been given a lesson in what it takes to become a real title contender after Liverpool proved they can not only deliver a knockout blow but also take the punches.

A 2-0 victory at the Emirates which reduced the gap at the top of the table to just one point sounds like it was a walk in the park, but for 45 minutes it was anything but.

For that period Arsenal were excellent, Liverpool out of sorts and yet still resilient; so you always feared for the Gunners once Jurgen Klopp had delivered his half-time talk.

That’s the way it turned out thanks to goals from Jota and Firmino in a ruthless second-half spell that burst Arsenal’s bubble — and dented Manchester City’s hopes that old boy Mikel Arteta could do them a favour.

It leaves the title race tantalisingly balanced, and Arsenal with a more realistic idea of how long they will have to wait before they can join it.

That’s not to say that Arteta’s side were poor, they weren’t. They just weren’t quite good enough. Not yet.

After so long as one of the also-rans, Arsenal are building momentum and had such a burning desire to take the next step in their development that a chance to do so by beating Liverpool led to a heightened atmosphere in north London.

No longer the fall guys, there is a shape, inventiveness, and identity to the way they play and a growing self-confidence to go with it. Although how it survives this disappointment will be interesting to see.

They are a long way off mounting a title challenge, of course, and still young in terms of their development, but this was a moment of learning against a Liverpool team far further down the line.

The visitors, despite a fast start, were largely poor in that first half, struggling to deal with Arsenal’s confidence and intensity.

You could tell from the crowd reaction that the match meant something extra. The Emirates has rarely been this united, this consistently noisy, or this fervent. Every interception and tackle was cheered, and Gabriel Martinelli was electric up against Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Gunners were the better side for a long spell, no doubt about it, forcing Liverpool into mistakes and looking easy and fluid in possession; it was only in the final pass that they struggled to turn that promise into goals.

The way that Jurgen Klopp harangued the fourth official for failing to give a free-kick, and then railed at his own players for giving the ball away so often, told you he was rattled.

He was even angrier when Thiago’s awful back-pass handed Arsenal a glorious chance to take the lead after the break, but Martin Odegaard couldn’t take advantage, denied by a fine save from Alisson.

That was the moment when Liverpool sprung off the ropes and punched so hard that Arsenal were rocked back.

First Jota fired home on the break when Aaron Ramsdale should have done better. Then came the one-two — a second goal from influential substitute Firmino which effectively sealed the game.

To their credit, Arsenal’s fans kept on cheering. But when a prize boxer who is carrying all the belts smells blood, you know it is not going to end well for the challenger.

City will be feeling a bit more nervous after watching this performance; even more so than if Liverpool had been at their glittering best all match. It showed the champions of 2020 still have the hunger, experience, and nous to fight to the bitter end.

But Arsenal should take heart, too. They are closer to the big two than they have been for a very long time. Remember, they also performed extremely well here against City earlier in the season when they had a man sent off when leading 1-0 and then were denied what would have been a deserved point in the very last minute.

That was in January and they have improved significantly since then and head to Aston Villa on Saturday with their hopes of finishing in the top four still alive — and matches against rivals Chelsea, Manchester United, and West Ham still to come this season.

But Liverpool’s ambitions are far higher. They already have the League Cup in the trophy cabinet, they are still in the Champions League, they go to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Saturday — and the Premier League title is now a serious possibility, too.

Could the entire season hang on Manchester City v Liverpool on Sunday, April 10? It’s a fascinating prospect, and after this result the current champions know the chasers won’t be easy to shake off.

Liverpool, with nine wins in a row, won’t have too many tougher challenges than a match at the Emirates against an improving Arsenal side with a point to prove.

They may not have been at their dancing best, but their ring craft is as sharp as ever — and this title race is going to the last round.