Mikel Arteta has had his side’s mentality challenged after they scraped a late draw against Man City, with Liverpool continuing to set the early standards with five straight wins.
It is far too early to be looking at the Premier League table, but any title race in recent memory will tell you dropped points cannot become a habit.
Liverpool won the title last season with four games to spare due to their superiority, with Arsenal having dropped points on 16 different occasions before the trophy was officially clinched.
In the five games to start the season, the Gunners have lost to Liverpool and snatched a late draw against Man City, where they opted to celebrate and bring on a defender rather than rushing to the halfway line to chase the winner.
With Arteta’s side finishing as runners-up for three successive seasons, Arsenal‘s approach against City was questioned by the Sky Sports panel, with the battle for the league title in mind.
“When I’m looking at Arteta, I think his mindset is, ‘Let’s make sure we don’t get beaten today’. But because of the standards of the other teams, and we’re talking about Liverpool and Man City over the last few years, that won’t be enough,” Roy Keane said.
“We’ve all sat there and gone, we’ll take the draw. But you know too many draws won’t get you anywhere fast, particularly when Liverpool are setting such high standards, and Man City did for a number of years, where Arsenal were competing with them.
“So they have to change that mindset, particularly at the start of the game today, ‘Let’s go at them’. It’s as if they were waiting for something to happen. They’ve got the quality, the strength and depth. What are they waiting for? Have they got that belief?
“You get proud of your team when you’re winning trophies, and that’s the next step for them. So Arsenal have to look at that and go, ‘Are we proud to get a draw against a Man City team who aren’t at their very best?’”
“A recurring pattern” for Arsenal
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher shared similar thoughts on Arteta’s ‘negative’ tactics, which is at odds with how Liverpool have scored late winners in four of their five league games to date.
Neville said: “At Arsenal Football Club, you make your attacking plays at 0-0 to give you the best chance of going and making an impact.
“But also it sends your message to your players that I believe in you, you’re going to go out there and win me this game.
“That’s the bit that I have doubts about Arsenal, and it isn’t going to go away until someone proves me wrong. I like them, and they’re a good side. I like watching them play, but they’ve got to take the handbrake off.”
Carragher, who considers Arsenal as having the “best squad” in the league, added: “Liverpool were there for the taking in that second half at Anfield, Man City were there for the taking at the start of this game, and he has allowed them to come into the game.
“It is just a recurring pattern season after season and if you are Arteta and an Arsenal supporter, you just have to hope that does not cost you at the end of the season, as they are a brilliant team with a fantastic squad, but the margins are so small.”
After five games, Liverpool have a five-point advantage over Arsenal – the two teams do not meet again until January 7 at the Emirates.