'I saw why Arne Slot could be right about Liverpool - as Arsenal game speaks volumes'

Liverpool competed with Arsenal and was more than deserving of a point at the Emirates Stadium, continuing a frustrating pattern for Arne Slot in terms of consistency

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

When Liverpool reflects on how this season unfolded, regardless of what happens between now and the end of the campaign, there will be clear ups and downs.

Arne Slot's men have beaten Arsenal (at Anfield in August), Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan. They have also lost heavily to Nottingham Forest (0-3) and PSV (1-4) and dismally to Manchester United and Crystal Palace.

It is for that exact reason, after they drew 0-0 at the Emirates Stadium — getting on top in the second half and collecting a well-earned point — that something could still be made of this season for Liverpool. There is hope yet.

In North London on Thursday, Slot's players showed the kind of fight that Virgil van Dijk had insisted they must.

Their focus sharpened by the chance to prove a point against the team poised to steal their Premier League crown, the Reds played well. Slot wanted to see more chances created, sure, but this was much better than most dared to predict.

Conor Bradley hit the crossbar, and Dominik Szoboszlai went close. Jeremie Frimpong was a livewire, albeit one that couldn't quite find the final ball.

It is not unreasonable to think that if Liverpool had a focal point — either Alexander Isak or Hugo Ekitike — it might have squeezed across the line for a victory. Instead, even though the game finished 0-0, this was a step in the right direction.

Slot's Liverpool has beaten a host of big clubs this season(Image: Getty Images)

"We faced an unbelievable team," Szoboszlai said on Sky Sports post-match. "But I think we showed again today why we became champions last season."

In a way, this was another result that suggests Liverpool is more likely to beat the better teams that it faces at the moment. Certainly, it is better suited to playing against them.

Arsenal had a few corners to swing in, but the Reds dealt with them. In general play, they were well-organized, intense, and didn't have to repeatedly bang their collective head against a low block.

"I think we showed today — and not for the first time, by the way, this season — that in the big games we are able to compete with any other team," Slot said in his post-match press conference.

"We've had results against almost any big team that we have played, except for Manchester City, where it was, of course, so obvious that we scored the 1-1, but the only ones that didn't think that was the referee and the VAR."

Having spoken about believing this season can still end up as something "special" in the build-up to the fixture, Slot's team showed why that could yet be true.

"I think this club has shown so many times when the club didn't have the greatest form in the league that they were able to win another trophy," Slot explained. "And other clubs have shown this recently as well that it's always possible."

In competing well against Arsenal — having struggled against Leeds United and Fulham — Liverpool showed exactly why.

Winning the Champions League comes down, in no small part, to good fortune, but Slot's side has the tools to go a long way. Right now, it is set up better to beat Barcelona than Brentford.