The mean response to Arsenal’s defeat at Anfield feels instinctively unfair.
The more sensible take is that Arsenal would have secured a valuable 0-0 draw in the most difficult fixture of the season was it not for a ridiculous Dominic Szoboszlai free-kick that was undefendable and irrational.
But herein lies the essential Mikel Arteta conundrum, because the problem with such a reasoned and reasonable wide-angle view of football is that the sport does not give the sensible any precedence over the irrational.
You cannot win titles by minimising risk, by obsessing over control until every variable is accounted for. Not since Jose Mourinho’s first spell at Chelsea has a team found success that way, and with good reason.
Football is chaos.
Managers can build data models and tactical plans – they can play with all their silly machines as much as they like – but at its core football remains hopelessly uncontrollable.
It is a low-scoring sport in which every goal radically changes the complexion of a match and therefore of a season, and yet the difference between scoring a goal and hitting the post often comes down to a one millimetre shift in where the player’s boot makes contact with the ball.
We hate that reality, which is why we retrospectively fit narratives onto the score lines as if they were fated or in any way fair, but in the sandstorm of a football where the ball ends up is decided by intangibles.
All of which is to say: it’s all about the vibes. And the vibes Arsenal are putting out is of runners-up, of a team too scared of losing to dare to win.
Psychology – not just mentality and a team’s togetherness, but the stories told about you and the fatalism that grips the industry - will always be the most important part of football because it is the most likely factor to influence the inherent randomness of it all.
Tactics can put a team in the right situation, but as anyone who has played football at even an amateur level knows it is the internal feeling of confidence and belonging that lets you hit the sweet spot of a ball. In other words, progressive tactics create an open and confident mind.
Arsenal brought that Liverpool winner on themselves, while Szoboszlai’s bravery and self-belief were precisely what the visitors lacked.
Dominik Szoboszlai. WOW. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/AmSa5lVgcx
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 31, 2025
But more importantly – even more so than the result – is that the rest of the football world is starting to look upon Arsenal that way. Perception really matters. It cannot be long before the external frustration with Arteta’s conservative instincts infects the players’ minds.
You have to actively win the Premier League, not fail to lose it.
A line-up that consists of three defensive midfielders tends towards the latter, especially when facing a Liverpool side that Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle have proved this season is vulnerable.
Liverpool won’t stay this confused at the back or this sloppy in midfield for much longer. If there was ever a moment to attack Arne Slot’s team it was Sunday.
Arsenal could have manifested victory with a tactical approach that fostered self-belief and pleased the gods.
Hit long balls over Virgil van Dijk and get him running. Dare to thread balls through that haphazard midfield and force Slot into retreat. Counter-attack quicker by starting Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri.
It might have ended in disaster, but it still would have left Arsenal knowing their manager believed in them. It was surely a risk worth taking.
Instead, Arteta slowed everything down and by doing so he told the Arsenal players and supporters that his team are still the under-dogs; holding tight to what they’ve got, desperately hoping others will fall away.
The Jose Mourinho and Stoke City comparisons can only take Arteta so far. This is the summer in which Arsenal finally signed the attacking players they needed.
There are no more excuses, as everyone keeps saying.
But that’s not just about lifting the title, it’s about playing with the swagger of champions. It’s about going out there and taking what’s yours.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
