After Arsenal drew 1-1 against Fulham, manager Mikel Arteta admitted that they had failed to capitalise on a “really crucial moment” in the Premier League title race with Liverpool.
With Martin Odegaard back in the team and influencing games for Arsenal, the Gunners had won four consecutive games going into the weekend.
Liverpool’s postponed match against Everton offered the north Londoners an opportunity to close the gap to the Reds to four points.
However, they missed the chance to do so and now sit third after their draw at Craven Cottage was followed by a Chelsea win across town at Tottenham.
Following the game, Arteta was asked if the match had been a missed opportunity given Liverpool’s lack of fixture.
The Spaniard responded: “We really wanted it. We have good momentum and it was a really crucial moment for us to go for it. We certainly did.
“We certainly tried and we were so close to doing it. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to achieve it.”
The manager was then asked if the result was painful, to which he replied: “Yeah, but as well because we want to win deserving to win against any kind of opposition.
“When they are able to change something we are still able to adapt and be so dominant and good in the game. That’s the thing.
“It’s all about us because we don’t know what the opposition is going to do. If we continue to play at this level with the threat that we are we are going to win a lot of games.”
During the match, Fulham defender Calvin Bassey picked up a yellow card that will rule him out of the Cottagers’ upcoming trip to Anfield on Saturday.
Arsenal were the dominant team against Marco Silva’s side, producing over two expected goals (xG) to the hosts’ 0.16.
In the end, though, the Gunners were still reliant on a set-piece to score, William Saliba tapping in after Declan Rice’s corner was headed back across goal by Kai Havertz.
Since the start of last season, Arsenal have scored 23 goals from corners in the Premier League, eight more than any other team.
While their threat from corners is on a level practically unseen before, they are struggling to score from open play in the way that Liverpool and Chelsea are.
As mentioned, Chelsea made ground on the Reds later in the afternoon, beating Tottenham 4-3 in a thrilling encounter that saw them come from 2-0 down.
Their coach, Enzo Maresca, said: “The fans can dream because from the outside, it is quite clear.”
After winning, the Chelsea manager was in a good mood and could even joke about Marc Cucurella’s two slips that led to the opposition’s opening goals:
“Inside, the reality is we are not ready, but the important thing is we improve day by day. Arsenal, City and Liverpool probably don’t slide like Marc Cucurella did!”
Liverpool are now just four points ahead of the Blues but have a game in hand on Maresca’s team. Meanwhile, Arsenal and Man City lie six points and eight points behind the Reds, respectively.