Arsenal pass up golden chance in dismal draw with Liverpool - 6 talking points

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Arsenal missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table on Thursday evening as they were held to a 0-0 draw with Liverpool .

Mikel Arteta 's side dominated the early throes, albeit were kept at arms' length by the reigning champions. Conor Bradley enjoyed the best chance of the game but saw his chip clip the crossbar.

Both sides eventually walked away with a point on an evening that they each struggled to find their rhythm.

It leaves Arsenal six points clear at the top of the table, while Liverpool remain in the Champions League places, two points above Brentford.

Here are all of the talking points from the Emirates Stadium:

After an opening 20 minutes in which the home side dominated, it was actually Liverpool who went closest to an opener. A slight miscommunication saw William Saliba almost roll the ball past his own goalkeeper David Raya .

The Spaniard managed to clear but only to Conor Bradley, who attempted a lofted effort that bounced off of the crossbar. The North London side eventually managed to scramble clear after their warning shot from their visitors - albeit one that came from a rare error within their own defence.

Saliba and Raya had a small disagreement after the incident but eventually smoothed things over.

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Florian Wirtz certainly appears to have found his feet in the Premier League over recent weeks. And he looked the most likely to create something for Liverpool at the Emirates.

The German midfielder may even had earned his side a penalty in the second-half has he attempted to weave past the Arsenal defence only to be unceremoniously taken down by Leandro Trossard .

Wirtz clearly wanted a penalty, albeit neither the referee nor VAR agreed.

Given the billing he arrived with at the Emirates, plenty was expected of Viktor Gyokeres . But he has so far underwhelmed in North London - and that was no different against Liverpool.

The Swede was far from a goal threat and even when the Gunners did carve out presentable opportunities for him, he was nowhere near where he needed to be.

He was taken off in place of Gabriel Jesus just after the hour mark. Given he was meant to be the signing to push Arsenal towards the title, Arteta will be very disappointed.

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Arsenal - particularly their defence - have not had the best luck with injuries this season. Both Gabriel and William Saliba have spent time on the sidelines, while Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori are currently out.

And it appears that Arteta has been given a fresh headache. Having started at left-back, Piero Hincapie was forced off in the second period.

With the Gunners' season having reached a key stage with games to come in the FA Cup , Carabao Cup and Champions League, Arteta will hope that he isn't sidelined for too long.

The game actually ended on a bit of a sour note with Bradley picking up what looked like a serious injury and was stretchered off. And while there was sympathy, the same cannot be said of Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazilian appeared to drop the ball on the Liverpool man in the aftermath, while he then shoved him off of the pitch.

That triggered a furious clash between the two sides, while c ommentator Gary Neville was left 'fuming'.

With Manchester City and Aston Villa drawing earlier in the week, this game represented a big opportunity for both sides. Arsenal could have extended their lead over Pep Guardiola's side to eight points, while Liverpool could have cut the gap to third-placed Aston Villa.

But for the opening period of the game, it appeared that neither side really wanted to win the game. Liverpool did not show enough ambition for victory, while Arsenal struggled to create any real chances of note.

Should either of the two sides fail to achieve their respective targets, they might reflect back on this game as one of the moments where they could have laid down a statement.

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