**Arsenal:** Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Trossard, Saka, Gyokeres
**Subs:** Kepa, White, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Merino, Madueke, Martinelli, Eze, Jesus
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points after drawing 0-0 with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
Mikel Arteta made two changes from the side that beat Bournemouth last time out, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard replacing Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli.
Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri missed out on the matchday squad, although there may be opportunities for minutes throughout January in the cup competitions.
**FIRST HALF**
Even though Arsenal were in control of possession, it was a tough opening ten minutes for both teams with the rain bucketing down in London which made the pitch very slippery and unpredictable.
But Arteta’s men suddenly burst into life and had two big moments in quick succession, with Declan Rice finding Jurrien Timber at the back post although he couldn’t find a red shirt with his headed cutback, before Bukayo Saka breezed past Kerkez and Mac Allister with ease – only to miss everybody with his cutback as everyone flooded the six yard box.
Already with less than 20 minutes on the clock, Liverpool were playing with 11 men behind the ball and being totally suffocated by Arsenal (physically and tactically), who continued to enjoy strong spells of possession in the final third.
Having spent most of the first half defending, the visitors eventually got their foot on the ball for a few minutes and were inches away from taking the lead after beating the Arsenal press way too easily and forcing a rare defensive mix up.
After William Saliba did well to cover a dangerous run in behind from Frimpong, he nudged the ball back to David Raya who wasn’t expecting the pass having advanced out of his goal and after the ball found its way to Conor Bradley, the defender lifted the ball onto the crossbar with both Raya and Timber beaten.
There was even time for some handbags when Frimpong went down in the penalty area after rolling his ankle, before Arsenal broke up the other end and earned themselves a corner which Van Dijk took exception to, mainly because he decided he wanted to referee the game and was frustrated the hosts didn’t put the ball out of play.
Rice took exception to that and effectively told Van Dijk to keep quiet which then turned into every outfield player on the pitch squaring up in a huddle.
Arsenal had another sight of goal before half-time, when some nice one-touch play around the box saw Saka played through by Rice, but he was marshalled well by Kerkez who made it difficult to get a clean shot off before Liverpool cleared.
The Gunners were the better team throughout the first half but struggled to create clear cut opportunities, while Liverpool, predominantly on the back foot and defending in numbers, had the best chance with Bradley inches away from finding the net.
**SECOND HALF**
Liverpool started the second half well and were moving the ball with more confidence, although another half-hearted penalty shout was waved away after Florian Wirtz was bumped off the ball by Leandro Trossard.
The visitors continued to look threatening in transition due to the pace of Frimpong, who again got beyond the Arsenal backline but was eventually crowded out without options in support.
Arsenal were also forced into an early change when Piero Hincapie went down and was swiftly replaced by Lewis-Skelly, who had the tough job of marshalling Frimpong which the Ecuadorian did relatively well up until coming off.
Arteta had to do something to freshen his side up with Liverpool firmly in control, passing the ball well and finding space between the lines, and those changes came with 65 minutes on the clock – Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus replacing Trossard and Gyokeres.
Heading into the last 20 minutes, Liverpool continued to dominate possession and Arsenal couldn’t get near them, and when they did, they were unable to keep it and were giving the ball straight back. It was so uncharacteristically poor from what we’ve come to expect from this team with the crowd becoming increasingly restless.
Arteta brought on Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke for his last throw of the dice, with Saka and Odegaard making way who were anonymous in the second half. Madueke almost made an instant impact after getting to the byline beyond Kerkez but nobody was in the box to convert.
The remaining stages were full of angst and frustration, both in the stands and on the pitch, with the side completely unable to string a spell of possession together or win any second balls against an industrious Liverpool side.
They were finally able to test Alisson when Jesus headed a Saliba cross at the Brazilian, before Martinelli did well to cut inside two defenders but curled another simple effort at the goalkeeper who absorbed the ball into his midriff.
There were more handbags after Martinelli pushed Bradley off the pitch (who had seemingly suffered a serious injury) but that was about as fiery as the match got, with Arsenal disappointingly flat on what should’ve been an intense night.
Six points is still a healthy lead at the top of the table, but the potential of eight having faced a weakened Liverpool side was enticingly tasty. It wasn’t to be on a miserable, rainy night for everybody.