Why Mikel Arteta's reluctance to gamble is the right play for Arsenal in title race | OneFootball

The Gunners may be a tough watch at times but the risk-averse football has them sitting pretty

Little more than a murmur greeted the full-time whistle in north London.

The sense was that the Arsenal fans did not quite know what to make of it.

The second half in particular was poor from Arsenal, who did not register a shot between half-time and the start of stoppage-time at the end of the match. There was a real lack of composure on the ball, too.

Liverpool played without a recognised striker in the absence of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike and that allowed them to drop an extra body into midfield, swamping the Arsenal shirts.

At least we were so disciplined that we didn't concede absolutely anything to the champions

Mikel Arteta

The visitors offered very little attacking threat, failing to register a single shot on target, but they had 65% of the ball in the second half and gave Arsenal nothing to build on.

The question then became how much Mikel Arteta and his side wanted to risk in search of victory. Not much, was the answer.

Arsenal's substitutions were like-for-like, rather than any shift towards being more front-footed. Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka came off with 12 minutes to go.

Speaking after the match about his side's lack of spark in the final third, Arteta said: "Today we missed that, but with missing that at least we were so disciplined that we didn't concede absolutely anything to the champions."

Arteta gave off the air of a manager satisfied with the night's work, another tricky game ticked off and with his side sitting six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Across 180 minutes against Liverpool this season, Arsenal have barely had a chance to speak of. The same, of course, has been true of Liverpool in those matches.

Arteta also faced scrutiny for naming a midfield three of Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice against Manchester City in September, when Arsenal snatched a last-gasp draw.

Arsenal’s set-pieces let them down

REUTERS

The approach against Liverpool and City has been to minimise risk, keep the margins small, and seemingly be content to tick them off with no damage and allow the title race to be decided elsewhere.

That same outlook been criticised in recent seasons and, at times, rightly so.

There has been too much rewriting of history regarding a 0-0 draw at the Etihad in 2024, with the false idea that Arsenal wildly celebrated that draw, but that was a game the Gunners needed to go and win.

Arsenal did not have the luxury of a buffer allowing them to play cautiously. They lost the title to City by two points and that clash at the Etihad is one where the pursuit of victory should have been worth the risk of defeat.

This season, though, the calculation has changed. Arsenal have the best squad in the league and are now far more reliable at picking up wins against teams lower down the table.

Over Christmas alone, victories over Brighton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth added up to an improvement of seven points on those fixtures last season.

Arsenal struggled to create in the second half

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal do not need the title to be decided against their biggest rivals. With City drawing their last three games, Arsenal could afford to settle for a point against Liverpool and allow the fight to be taken elsewhere.

The key test will be whether they can maintain their strong form against the so-called lesser teams, particularly if City hit top form and the heat cranks up further.

Should Arsenal keep their cool and do so, the more circumspect attitude against the likes of Liverpool and City will be a footnote in the title story. If the unexpected slip-ups do come, one point from six against Liverpool will look far more costly.

Victory on Thursday night would have been a big statement and stamped Arsenal's authority all over this title race.

The slightly deflated full-time mood at the Emirates was a natural consequence of a 24-hour build-up to what could have been a defining night.

From the moment City were held to a draw by Brighton, it was clear Arsenal had the chance to move from a position of strength to a position of dominance.

Liverpool's overloaded midfield set-up meant Arsenal needed to gamble to really push for three points. Arteta's gamble was that they did not really need them.