Mikel Arteta's team trails Manchester City by five points after Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta made a vow earlier in the week that his Arsenal squad will be flying for their match against Liverpool on Sunday. After nine minutes, his prediction came true.

Arsenal is a formidable force in this title fight because of Bukayo Saka's spectacular finish at the near post 48 hours after he was not seen in training and appeared to be out of this game.

After nine games, Arsenal has faced many difficult situations this season, but aside from their loss to Bournemouth on Saturday, they have demonstrated a great deal of resolve. Arteta remarked, "Circumstances are making us better," following this most recent instance of tenacity.

Despite being down to ten men and outplayed by a strong Brighton team, they manage to salvage a point. They are ten seconds away from three points after doing the same away at Manchester City.

On Sunday, Arsenal suffered yet another setback as Gabriel was substituted out due to an injury after leading Liverpool. As the home crowd watched Thomas Partey, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, and teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly battle one of the division's most formidable attackers, it drained the stadium of its vitality.

It was the most recent in a series of injuries that have put this Arsenal club in danger of failing. Saka's latest injury, along with Martin Odegaard's, has been one of the worst injury blows to the Premier League since the beginning of the previous campaign.
 
However, with Saka not playing at his best and Odegaard out, Arsenal made Liverpool let up two goals in the first half on Sunday for the first time in 2024.

Further back the pitch, the same holds true. Days after labouring in the same position during the second half of the Shakhtar Donetsk game, Partey was placed on the right when White was needed at centre-back and Jurrien Timber had to stop Mohamed Salah on the left.

The Ghanaian midfielder won 13 duels altogether, almost twice as many as any other player on the pitch, proving to those who questioned his ability to battle with Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.

In addition to that, Arteta brought in Lewis-Skelly when Timber had to be substituted again after the Gabriel blow, giving the 18-year-old cameos in the last moments of the games away to City and Liverpool this season. Just to remind you, Arsenal won both games.

"I see the team and I have no doubts," Arteta declared on Sunday night. "To reflect our current situation and our desired future state, we needed to win the points [against Liverpool]." We certainly are there, even though we couldn't accomplish it.

"It is what it is. Our back line has five injuries. We must adjust to it, and we will do so in the future.

Because of the way Arteta has shaped this team, Arsenal is able to be this determined. It is practically impossible for opposing managers to prepare when there are versatile players in a variety of roles.

"This team can play in so many different set-ups," Arne Slot, the manager of Liverpool, stated. "They can play 40 different setups, but they always play 4-3-3. Your players cannot be given forty distinct options.

The ongoing pursuit of marginal advantages is another. Since the beginning of the previous season, Arsenal has scored 27 goals from set pieces; no other team is even close to that total.

The 'black arts' were again on display on Sunday, as Slot, the manager of Liverpool, was booked for his protests after he complained about the number of times Arsenal players fell to ground.

As Arteta previously stated, Arsenal must continue to adjust over the next weeks. Arsenal's calendar shifts to away games against Newcastle, Inter Milan, and Chelsea following a Carabao Cup last-16 meeting at Preston in midweek.

Of course, Arsenal's qualifications are still questioned. They currently trail leaders City by five points, and as Roy Keane pointed out, giving up late goals against City and Liverpool may potentially be seen as a sign of weakness.

Gary Neville, who is somewhat knowledgeable about a championship race, remarked, "Arsenal haven't started as perfectly in terms of form, not playing anywhere near their best."

However, that isn't a negative thing. Teams that began like a house on fire used to always frighten me. You really want to be strong in February, March, April, and May, therefore you want to be going at your best.

"Arsenal is currently in a respectable position. Due to injuries and discipline issues, they have faced considerable difficulties in the first half of the season.

"If they can get through it and still remain intact then it's not a bad place to be."