Darwin Núñez must be wondering what makes him so special. Had he been playing for an Arsenal side that missed chance after chance against Liverpool, the narrative would have been clear: that his profligacy had been costly.
Instead, it was Mikel Arteta’s side that should draw criticism; it cannot be one rule for Núñez and another rule for the rest. Some of the chances that Arsenal missed were gilt-edged and clear-cut. Liverpool missed Virgil van Dijk to a point but a lack of ruthlessness let the Reds off on a day when the difference between the two teams was obvious.
Part of the reason for enhanced scrutiny on Núñez is that the Uruguayan could end up being a club-record purchase once all the add-ons in the deal that brought him in from Benfica are applied. But Kai Havertz cost Arteta $83m (£65m/€76m) in the summer. That figure is looking more baffling by the game. Arsenal will come back, but the last few weeks have been costly.
Núñez has 16 goal contributions so far this season for Liverpool. Only one Arsenal player (Bukayo Saka with 20) can beat that. Havertz has six. The German was not the only one guilty of being wasteful here, but the comparison is a fair one. Gabriel Jesus missed out with an injury but he is hardly prolific and Gabriel Martinelli is yet to turn exciting dribbles into consistent finishes.
Saka has started to prove himself in front of goal but Mohamed Salah has scored once every 114 minutes compared to the England forward’s 245 in all competitions. Scoring goals is an issue for Arsenal and that was evident once again today.
Even with Salah now at AFCON, it was Liverpool that had more attacking quality. Sure, the opening goal was an own-goal from Jakub Kiwior but it was a perfect Trent Alexander-Arnold cross that forced that. Luis Díaz was a major threat as well, adding a late second to seal the result and help send Liverpool through.
Liverpool has only scored six more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal has — and Salah now being absent is not ideal — but with the options that Jürgen Klopp has available to him, the Reds feel more like a consistent threat. The Gunners have scored just twice in their last four matches and while that might not be a run that is repeated, it might be enough to ruin a season.
Already out of both domestic cups, Arsenal now only has the league and the Champions League to fight for in this campaign. Without a clinical forward to finish the chances that Martin Ødegaard and co create, both of those competitions may well prove to be out of reach.
This was a game that showed why — despite choosing to spend $83m on Havertz rather than a proper forward — Arsenal has a disadvantage in the title race compared to Liverpool (and Manchester City). Prioritizing Havertz over a more prolific player, and now having to be careful with FFP as a result, means the merits of that summer transfer decision will be called into question. Liverpool was more clinical in this fixture and it’s a pattern that has now been seen for a few weeks.
