Arsenal have the tools to retain their title, analysis argues

Arsenal have everything they need to retain their Premier League title: that is the argument made in an analysis of the club. Sunday’s win at Liverpool offers a strong supporting example, particularly in the defensive control Arsenal showed after weathering a difficult spell before half-time.

Liverpool put Arsenal under pressure on Sunday. The Gunners held firm, reorganised at the interval and then managed the second half with greater comfort. Across the last two league meetings with Liverpool, Arsenal have prevented their opponents from registering a shot on target. That run illustrates the defensive strength highlighted in the analysis.

The match was not without controversy. At Anfield, Jurriën Timber pulled Alexander Isak’s shirt in an incident where Liverpool, the analysis argues, should have been awarded a penalty. The failure to intervene through video review was also criticised. The analysis also recalls Arsenal’s defeat at Brighton, where Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas took difficult chances. Those episodes show that an intense press can trouble Arsenal, even though the team withstood Liverpool’s pressure.

Squad depth is another part of the case. Arsenal's Sunday options included Myles Lewis-Skelly, Piero Hincapié, Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino, allowing the team to defend its advantage with little loss of quality. Liverpool’s substitutions, by contrast, upset the team’s balance. After Dominik Szoboszlai came on for Trey Nyoni, Liverpool never really regained control of the game.

Arsenal’s management of matches is also part of a season-long pattern: the club have already turned a half-time draw into a full-time win seven times. The analysis does point to a limitation, however: squad depth was not enough to get past Fleetwood in the League Cup last week.

There are reasons for caution. Last season, Arsenal were already in a commanding position at this stage, four points ahead of Bournemouth after nine games, but the campaign still had a long way to go. The memory of having won the title may nevertheless help the side approach the race differently. The Liverpool victory strengthens Arsenal’s case, without erasing the questions raised by the defeat at Brighton or guaranteeing what comes next in the league.