Nobody ever likes to lose. But this defeat needs to be taken in context. Up against one of the best club sides in the world, Arsenal put up the sort of fight that we'd hoped for. It is a measure of the progress that the team had made over the past few months that they went toe to toe with Liverpool for so long, and never looked like being blown away; something we've seen so often recently.
There's no point into going into too much detail of how the match went - we've all seen it - but I just want to make a few points about what we saw, and what it indicates for the club. So here goes:
Liverpool have had Jurgen Klopp at the helm since 2015. He has put together a fantastic team, with great players wherever you look, and barely a weakness to be seen. Plus he has depth in many positions. Alisson, VVD, Fabinho and Salah are quite possibly the best in the world in their respective roles, with others not too far behind. They are a formidable outfit.
Nonetheless, the work in progress that is Arsenal - the project only really started this season - matched them toe for toe for almost an hour. Arsenal are a very young side and have little or no depth to their squad, yet they managed to be the better side for much of the first half. OK, very few chances were manufactured on either side, but this was a proper contest where games against Liverpool really haven't been for many seasons now. But it's clear that Arsenal managed to rattle Liverpool.
There were little victories in many parts of the pitch. Martinelli gave TAA a torrid time - the like of which I've never seen before - and this has clearly contributed to the hamstring injury that's going to rule the defender out for several weeks now.
If the Brazilian had been a little more decisive on one or two occasions, Arsenal may have scored a goal or two. Odegaard was surrounded every time he received the ball, so concerned were Liverpool by him. For Thomas Partey, it was a similar story. However, Xhaka wasn't quite as closely marked; they were clearly less worried about him. Defensively, the sight of Kieran Tierney outspeeding not only Luis Diaz but also Sadio Mane at one point was very satisfying.
However, Arsenal barely created a decent opportunity. For all that Liverpool looked well off their best - especially in the first half - and that can be put down to Arsenal's efforts - the home side found it very difficult to do much damage up top. And that can be attributed to two things; firstly, Lacazette was no match whatsoever for Liverpool's two man-mountain centre halves - just how good is Virgil van Dijk, by the way? - and then if he dropped short there was no room for him to operate.
As Arteta mentioned in his post-match interviews, the difference between the two sides on the night was the decisiveness shown at crucial moments. Where Lacazette and Odegaard failed to make the most of Thiago's errant back pass early in the second half - kudos to Allison for not losing his cool - Liverpool punished Arsenal defensive errors severely.
Ramsdale knows that he was at fault for the opening goal (and if I never see Jota on the pitch again against Arsenal, even that will be too soon!), and a series of minor errors led to the second goal; beautifully taken by Firmino.
Something I noted was that with all the movement exhibited by whoever was in the Liverpool front three, our defenders often didn't know who to track. That's something that they'll have to work on.
After that Liverpool controlled the game and sat on 2-0. And why wouldn't they? And whilst Arsenal toiled away, the football purist in me admired the brilliance of the likes of van Dijk, Thiago - I hadn't really noticed him first half, but paid more attention in the second period and he was magnificent - and when he came on, Mo Salah. What a talent he is! And whilst both he and Mane have the type of face that you just want to punch, it's impossible not to imagine a neon sign above the Egyptian's head that says: 'Genius at work'.
And so the difference boiled down to a) Liverpool have better players, although Arsenal are closing the gap in that respect - and considerably greater squad depth, and b) Liverpool are relentless; they punish mistakes severely. However, it is clear that the gap is narrowing (and that can also be reflected in the league table), and that given more time (and money) it ought to narrow further. Last season, this game might easily have ended up at 4- or 5-0.
And hopefully this result will serve as a reality check for those Arsenal fans who were getting carried away. 'Come on - there's no reason we can't beat them!', and stuff like that. Those of us who had our feet more firmly planted would have been happy to take a draw, and defeat was - as we'll all admit - no surprise.
Just a word on Sadio Mane. Booed throughout, outpaced by Tierney at one point, throwing himself about and one particularly outrageous dive, for which he really ought to have been booked. He's a little bit more than a pantomime villain.
One other thing I noticed was Liverpool's judicious use - Manchester City style - of the rotational foul. Dominate possession, lose the ball high up in the opponent's half, and immediately commit a foul that stops any break dead. I wish that referees were wiser to it. I can't stand it.
Nut it's now time to deliver on more realistic targets. There's no better time to start a new sequence than immediately, and we don't have long to wait. It's Aston Villa next, and they're certainly beatable. And with Tottenham having won on Wednesday to close the gap, Arsenal need to kick on again. COYG!
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