After tonight’s 0-0 home draw the Gunners are six points ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa, while Slot’s team is in fourth place
The Premier is not closed. Arsenal are unable to beat Liverpool and consequently do not escape at +8, keeping Manchester City and Aston Villa, their closest pursuers, 6 points behind with the 0-0 at the Emirates (here is the table). The advantage is enough to consider the Gunners masters of the tournament after 21 days, not to consider the title race already closed, as it probably would have been in the event of Arteta’s team triumphing. The draw is the fairest result, under the downpour brought to the first-class stadium by Storm Goretti, the tropical storm that is bringing snow, strong winds and rain to the whole of Great Britain: the hosts played much better in the first half, Liverpool controlled the match in the second half, legitimizing the fourth place and showing Slot that they can improve further, once the emergency in attack is over.
SOLUTIONS
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Arteta tried everything to win. At the start he took advantage of the good streak of Bukayo Saka, who then dropped at a distance, but was unable to create a good first half. In the second half Arsenal showed why they are better than everyone else: the depth of their team. After the injury of Piero Hincapie, replaced after 57′ by the still uncertain Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arteta first brought in Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli for the absent Viktor Gyökeres (his last goal from open play was dated 1 November) and Leo Trossard, then he went all out by also bringing in Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze for Saka and Martin Ødegaard, the captain who returned to normal after a few space races. The changes served to restore liveliness to Arsenal’s attack which had been lost in Liverpool’s web, not to help them find the goal that would have closed the Premier League. The restart with the Reds is a glimpse of normality in a first part of the season at a very high level for the Gunners: since 31 August, since the defeat in the first leg against Liverpool decided by a magic from Dominik Szoboszlai, Arsenal have lost only once in all competitions, against Aston Villa on 6 December, but since then they have put Emery’s team back in their place by dominating them in the return leg three weeks later. He may not have taken advantage of the opportunity to close out the Premier League as he would have done by beating Liverpool, but Arteta’s team remains master of the tournament: it has more weapons, more talent, a better defense and more continuity than all the others. The 6 points with which he reaches the 9-day mini break (next Premier League match on 17 January, but in between there are the FA Cup and Carabao Cup semi-final) are a gift rarely wasted in the past. This doesn’t mean that Arsenal have already won, just that in this first part of the season they have done better than the others, playing at a higher level. To break the fast that has lasted for 22 years you will need to continue doing so.
RELAUNCH
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Having been trailed in the first half, Liverpool showed in the second half that they could lead the way. Slot’s team has not lost in 9 games in the league, even if they have drawn more (5) than they have won (4): from organization to talent, the Reds have everything they need to stay at the top, even more than the fourth place they currently occupy. However, the absences in attack are a problem, but not enough for the coach to trust Federico Chiesa, who remained on the bench for the entire match: an assist for Juve, who want to convince him to return to Italy. It’s one of the many things Liverpool will have to figure out in the coming weeks.
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