Arne Slot offers alternative take on Liverpool draw at Arsenal - 'Not that much different'

Liverpool battled well against Arsenal and collected a point in the Premier League, but without Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, it was lacking something in the final third

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Arne Slot was frustrated that Liverpool couldn't create more chances to trouble David Raya in the Arsenal goal on Thursday, despite his side picking up a good point away at the Emirates Stadium.

Conor Bradley hit the bar in the first half and Dominik Szoboszlai went close with a free-kick in the second, but while Jeremie Frimpong and others got into good positions, they weren't able to fully capitalize on them.

As a result, while Slot saw his team battle and look very well organized defensively, he said there wasn't that much difference between this game and the recent matches with Leeds United and Fulham.

"I am a bit surprised that people think this is a good performance, because normally when we have 60 or 70 per cent ball possession against other teams, people find it boring," Slot said in his post-match press conference.

"We hardly created a chance but now it is 'phwoar, what a performance'. This is who we are. We can dominate ball possession and we know how to do it well, but we struggled, obviously, in a few things.

"Dominating moments when we are in the final third and then to find the right pass, that is something that is still not at the level some of the teams are. That's why we are working every single day.

"Yes, we did really well with ball possession, but for me it was not that much different to playing Leeds home or Fulham away where we dominated the ball possession as well, but then people are annoyed. I want to see us create more chances as well."

Arne Slot's assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, was booked for protesting against Arsenal.(Image: 2024 Allstar)

Against Arsenal, Liverpool didn't muster a shot on target. Playing away from home at a team six points clear at the top of the table and 14 points ahead of the Reds in the Premier League standings, though, the circumstances were very different.

In the first half against the Gunners, Liverpool was forced back, even though Alisson Becker was not always called upon.

Those in front, including Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, helped shield him, with Viktor Gyokeres barely getting a kick.

After half-time, however, Liverpool was the better side. The Reds caused some problems for Arsenal but couldn't find a way of converting that pressure into a goal.

Missing Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike in attack, it was clear that Liverpool lacked a focal point. With Florian Wirtz furthest forward, William Saliba and Gabriel at the heart of Mikel Arteta's defense were not as busy as they might otherwise have been.

"We know that the margins are very small. I think we have two different halves," Arteta told Sky Sports post-match.

"The first one, where we have a lot of domination, created big situations with players almost onside the six-yard box to pick a player up, and we didn't find the right pass to score the goal. And the second half was a bit more of a struggle.

"This game needs some magic moments, and at Anfield, Szoboszlai did it, and they won the game, and today it didn't happen, but you cannot win it, you cannot lose it."