Title contenders show hustle and defensive grit but neither look like breaking City machine

Saka moves into those unexpected areas between the rigid lines, a knight surrounded by rooks and bishops

- Barney Ronay

As the referee and his assistants left the Emirates Stadium pitch at full time, striding off in their classic three-abreast formation, in its own way a little martyred and theatrical, they were greeted with a thrillingly pent-up round of boos from the home support.

Was this fair? Virgil van Dijk had somehow got away with kicking Kai Havertz. Arsenal might have had a first-half penalty, but, well, not really. The problem with becoming convinced that the world is against you is sometimes it starts to feel like it actually might be, because the world is basically against everyone anyway. But not so much here. This was more a sense of people simply wanting to feel something, as memories of an energetic but oddly shapeless afternoon faded with the empty home-time music.

Was this a good game? Kind of. There was energy, skill, hustle, defensive grit. But this was also a 2-2 draw that always felt like it was telling you something behind its hand, a game that showcased both teams’ weaknesses as well as their strengths. In Arsenal’s case this was mainly their attacking dependence on Bukayo Saka. For Liverpool it was that sense of an oddly mannered work in progress under Arne Slot, the feeling of energy being expended usefully but without edge.