The clever Arsenal adjustment that secures ‘momentum’ in title race

For a game that featured a big win and was about getting on the front foot in the title race, so much of the aftermath of Arsenal v Liverpool felt focused on responding to setbacks. Jurgen Klopp was even philosophical in discussing his team’s first league defeat since October.

"We didn't lose recently many games,” the German began. “That means dealing with defeats is a challenge... for human kind, actually.”

Mikel Arteta might empathise. He spoke about how his Arsenal “reacted really well after 10 or 15 minutes of suffering” following Gabriel’s own goal but there was something bigger here. Arsenal have reacted even better to more issues than bad defending.

Klopp had actually spoken about the FA Cup game Liverpool had won at Arsenal a few weeks earlier, and how the pattern of the first half was similar. One of many differences was that, this time, Arteta's side scored.

That came from a bigger difference.

Arsenal don’t really resemble the fatigued team that laboured to defeat in that match. The January break looks like exactly what they needed. Many at the club say that the problem before that FA Cup match wasn’t physical but mental. They’d just had too many games and needed a refresh. It was something that Arteta himself referenced after the game.

“The schedule that we had prior to Christmas, the amount of players that played so many minutes and the injuries that we had, we needed to recharge. Now we’ve got some momentum back. Three really convincing wins in a row, the team playing really well and we have to go for it. The whole season is now ahead of us. We need players back because we have a few injuries. That’s the big concern I have. If we have everybody fit, training and available then we have a good chance.”

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Their play against Liverpool certainly illustrated that. What so stood out was how much they ran - and how they ran. They often looked relentless. In one moment, Gabriel Martinelli was snapping on to the slightest miscontrol to race forward. In the next, Arsenal’s attack was just penning Liverpool in.

It was back to the best of last season, but with something more. Arsenal may not have yet recreated the consistent verve of last season’s attacking but there does seem more substance. Martinelli personified this. It’s like they have grown from then to be more imposing in big games. Results have followed.

This was their third huge home victory of the season, and undeniably the most convincing. They were frenetic against Manchester United and just about rose above a drab game against City. This had a greater level of conviction. Klopp openly spoke about how Arsenal deserved it. It was a mission statement, and that against a Liverpool side that had been in such superb form.

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Klopp was right that it was still just one game and there should be no concerns there, but it remains telling how performance can change perspective. Just a few days ago, the talk was all of Liverpool going all out for the manager’s last few months.

They can still do that but suddenly have one or two issues.

For Arsenal, meanwhile, it’s gone from problems closing in to everything opening out. You wouldn’t quite say they have a clear run but they look fresh ahead of a manageable schedule.

The only cup competition they’re still in is the Champions League and that isn’t exactly like the Europa League in terms of weighing a squad down. There’s even an argument that staying in the most prestigious continental competition helps with rhythm and momentum.

Arsenal suddenly have plenty of both. It’s such a contrast to a month ago, when a lot of the talk around the stadium was that it was so painfully similar to last April.

On that, Arteta does maybe deserve more credit than he has got so far.

The remaining argument around Arsenal is that they are still pretenders, and have won nothing of note yet - even if people too easily forget the 2020 FA Cup. The case can even be made that they now have this history of choking as they get close to the line.

They finished fifth when they could have had fourth in 2021-22. They finished second when they could have had first in 2022-23.

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Such a case, however, would be to completely miss the bigger picture. Both of those seasons can be explained by the relative youth of the side, and it’s possible they were overperforming. There are also the very responses.

They only “failed” in 2022-23 because they’d been so successful in making such a leap from 2022. The fifth-place failure had no effect. Arsenal only got stronger. Much stronger. They went from failing to make the Champions League to going head-to-head with the eventual European champions.

Similarly, last season’s second place hasn’t deflated them. They’ve got physically stronger as a team, with that the main quality that Declan Rice has added.

The nature of the current Premier League means none of this is to say they can go on from second to win it.

Klopp summed up the view of pretty much everyone by saying, when asked about Liverpool losing the initiative, that everyone expects Manchester City to win all their games anyway. That weighs over the entire race.

All Arsenal can do is give themselves the best chance.

“We are there, that’s for sure,” Arteta said. “We want to continue to be there. We’ve been really consistent all season, if not you aren’t where we are today. We take it game by game, the availability of the squad is going to be crucial. We have learned that from last season. Let’s try to make that happen.”

They certainly made a lot happen in perhaps their most significant win so far.