However, Arsenal were handed a reality check by the Reds. Liverpool utterly eviscerated Arsenal in a dominant 4-0 victory. Sadio Mané opened the scoring in the 39th minute; after the halftime break, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, and Takumi Minamino added to Liverpool's margin of victory.
Arsenal were thoroughly outclassed by their opponents from the northwest in every way imaginable; this was obvious even from the opening kickoff. Despite their prior hot streak, this match clearly showed that Arsenal still have a very long way to go if they are to even think of once again becoming league title contenders. Such a status seems to be, at the very least, five years away - and even that might be generous.
Even their recent unbeaten run belies their true level. Not one of their six wins came against genuinely high-quality opposition; this fact exposes Arsenal as nothing more than "flat-track bullies". In addition, prior to those matches, Arsenal had lost three consecutive matches including a 2-0 loss against London rivals Chelsea as well a 5-0 shellacking at the hands of Manchester City. Arsenal are therefore now 0-0-3 against all three of this season's Premier League title contenders; they scored no goals and conceded a whopping 11 across those matches.
So, just what does the road ahead hold for Arsenal?
For one thing, it may be time to start scouring the market for a centre-forward. As great as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been in North London, he is now 32 and beginning to show clear signs of decline. His 10 league goals last season represented his lowest career tally in a major league apart from his first professional season in 2007-08, when he was just a teenager fresh out of AC Milan's youth academy. It was also his lowest total overall since the 2010-11 season.
The main question regarding "Auba" when he was still in his prime was always about what would happen once he ages and loses his once-explosive athleticism. While the Arsenal captain is certainly not a scrub by any means, it may be time to move on from him.
Even qualifying for next season's Champions League will be an uphill battle for Mikel Arteta's team because Arsenal have once again kneecapped themselves with yet another underwhelming transfer window. This past off-season, Arsenal spent over £140 million on new acquisitions. However, of their seven signings, the only one to have moved the needle in any notable manner has been goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. While Ben White has been reasonably consistent at centre-back, his performances thus far have not justified his lofty price tag of £50 million. None of Arsenal's other signings have been particularly impactful thus far.
Arteta himself has to be scrutinized as well. On many occasions, he has shown himself to lack the tactical nous required to succeed as a coach at this level. Bear in mind that although he led Arsenal to the FA Cup title in his first season at the club, he did so by beating Chelsea who were then coached by the utterly incompetent Frank Lampard - someone who could be outstrategized by almost anyone.
This might actually be as good as it will get for Arsenal this season. The fact that their goal difference currently stands at -4 shows that they have been somewhat fortunate to have accumulated as many points as they have thus far. Regression to the mean could happen at any time. It is looking increasingly likely that Arsenal will fail to qualify for the Champions League for a sixth consecutive season.
If Arsenal are to become truly relevant once more, major changes are required. Everything about this club, both on the field as well as off it, evidences a club clearly in decline. While it's much too early to claim that Arsenal are on a one-way path to long-term irrelevancy, the signs do not look promising at the moment.
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