Point proven? Well, not exactly. Just when Arsenal looked ready to lay down a real marker for their title aspirations, a rejuvenated Liverpool side that has been through the wringer since they were crowned champions last season proved the Gunners are still far from the finished article.
It could have been even worse for Mikel Arteta’s side if Liverpool had been awarded one of two potential penalties or if Conor Bradley’s brilliant chip had not struck the crossbar in the first half. Arne Slot will be delighted with the way his much-maligned defence coped with Arsenal’s threat before the break.
Dominik Szoboszlai's reaction
We faced an unbelievable team and we showed why we became champions last season. I think this is a step forward after the recent weeks. We have to keep working as hard as we did today.
We tried to keep the ball as much as we could. We did it better in the second half although we didn’t create many chances. Maybe if I’d had a better day [he had five shots in the second half] we could have scored.
[On the Martinelli/Bradley incident] I saw that Conor had twisted his knee. He wasn’t trying to timewaste, he was just in so much pain. I understand that Arsenal want to win, we want to win as well, but the health of a player is much more important.
