Arsenal remain unbeaten this season in all competitions after visiting Liverpool. Whether that is more important than the two points dropped in a game where they looked the better side is a moot point. Can’t do any harm though to demonstrate that this young side can go anywhere and not be afraid to play their football regardless of the reputation of the opposition. Liverpool are the Premiership’s only other unbeaten side, although their greater number of draws mean they are several points adrift of Wenger’s team.

What Liverpool’s counter-attacking game did expose was that the Arsenal defence rides its luck more often than many would like. But it’s the price paid for the possession football and insistence on keeping control in even the tightest situations, rather than hoofing it and playing the percentages. It’s this close passing that makes Arsenal such a joy to watch, yet also leaves them vulnerable playing the ball out of defence.

So the loss of possession by Flamini created the pressure that led to Gerrard’s free kick and Liverpool’s opener. To compound the error, Flamini broke away from the wall creating the gap for Gerrard’s howitzer to enter the net. Flamini did not have a bad game, but those mistakes were seriously punished. Wenger could have played Gilberto instead of Flamini in this game and I believe Arsenal could have played even better, Gilberto slightly better in possession than Flamini, and from the visitors’ perspective, this game was all about possession. Still, this is a minor complaint. The boys did enough to create the chances that eventually got the deserved equaliser.

Again, it was all about the last period of the game, when fitness is to the fore, and no-one can question the energy reserves of Cesc Fabregas. His run from the middle to score the winner was typical of the number four. Alexander Hleb had become a bit of a boo boy for Gooners towards the end of last season. His confidence seemed shot and his performances either unremarkable or just plain bad. And yet, as he seems to have found his form, the side has clicked. The close interplay at Anfield continually came off, at least until the edge of the penalty area where Liverpool had so many in number that further penetration proved nigh impossible. And Hleb was involved in a lot of it, rarely playing a bad pass, even at the one touch pace which had the home side chasing shadows half the time. Hleb’s ability to read the game certainly came to the fore when the equaliser arrived. He spent much of the match in the Bergkamp role, where the ability to read the movement of players around you is key to success.

Wenger changed the system from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2 with Bendtner’s arrival from the bench and Hleb moved to left midfield. But the Bergkamp-esque vision played its part when the Belarussian threaded his through ball to Fabregas for the toe-poked equaliser, twice delaying passes to avoid the offside flag.

Arsenal could improve in their composure in front of goal and their defending of set pieces. But it would be churlish to be critical of a draw at Anfield, given that Liverpool have so far proved impossible to beat in the league. Even with their flaws, if the Gunners continue with this level of performance, they will wipe the floor with enough of the Premiership’s also-rans to seriously threaten for the title.

Manchester United next Saturday is another big test, and the defence will have their work cut out. But the same goes for the visitors. It could be a classic as doubtless Ferguson’s team (unlike Liverpool) will see attack as the best form of defence. Expect drama, expect goals, expect yellow cards aplenty and maybe even a red or two. United’s form means they will play without fear. Arsenal seem to know no other way of playing these days.