Liverpool currently sit second in the Premier League with nine matches completed, seven wins and one draw and loss each. It is a fantastic result to have twenty-two of the twenty-seven points available, with tough away games such as trips to Old Trafford and the Emirates excluded, and four of the maximum six points from this game.

Last season, the Reds traveled to North London under similar circumstances and faced an off-field Arsenal team for the Premier League title. This game felt different; The artillerymen, in their own words, were suffering. ”injury crisis” but only two players are missing, by the way ”completely appropriate” Liverpool were missing the same number of starters as the London team.

Here’s what we learned from Liverpool’s 2-2 away draw against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal:

Virgil van Dijk does not slow down

Despite many choosing Ibrahima Konate as Player of the Match, van Dijk delivers first-class performances in every match and this does not go unnoticed because that is what is expected of him. It’s world-class normalcy for Virgil, which is mind-boggling considering most defenders would give their left leg for even half the level Big Virg shows every week. If you look at the description of Suffering from Success you will find a picture of Virgil van Dijk.

Ryan Gravenberch could become the best midfielder in the world sooner or later.

Similar to Virgil, Ryan plays in a form we never thought possible. Yes, we knew his explosive potential was there because we saw glimpses of his talent last season. But never in our wildest dreams could we have predicted that Gravenberch would be in contention for Player of the Year honors in a position we have been clamoring to strengthen in recent transfer windows. We have to think about it, could we see this rise if we transferred Martin Zubimendi? Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

Father Time is knocking on Andrew Robertson’s door

We all love Robbo and he is still one of the best full-backs in the Premier League. However, Father Time is invincible against all his opponents. Upon review and analysis, Robertson seems ill-suited for this type of system; which is a shame as the Scotsman has shed red blood for this club. The system and style under Jurgen Klopp played to Andy’s strengths. His ability to run continuously from the wing and press like a beast throughout the entire game was invaluable. Similarly, Trent has struggled with this system because he didn’t have the stamina and motor to do it for 90 minutes, twice a week, all season long.

However, in this new system, things were reversed; The slower, more methodical possession-based system suits Trent better than Robbo, and this becomes more evident as the games progress. We expect Liverpool to look for a left-back in the coming period and Andy Robertson to withdraw from the squad as time goes by.

Trent and Salah are there ‘moment’ of the game, regardless of their exact performance.

Neither had great games, they were put out of play by Trent and Salah’s passes and they just weren’t working.

But in games like this, especially for a team like Arsenal who play with a low block, you have a few moments to exploit. Since these chances are few and far between, you have to make sure you grab them. These are moments especially with players like Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Trent was involved in both goals, with his corner kick for Virgil to head towards goal and his weighted pass over the top for Darwin to run and assist Mo in the final ten minutes of the match.

These are the moments when you have these players.

Darwin Nunez is improving; no longer uncontrolled chaos, but focused and controlled

There were calls for Darwin to leave last season, and there have been even more calls this summer, with comments about a change in style and Nunez’s acumen to play the position Arne Slot will demand of him. Initially, these reservations pointed to correct, sloppy play, deviation from offside and failure to start most matches. The writing appeared to be on the wall for Darwin.

Then, after an international break and an unfortunate injury to Diogo Jota, Darwin got his chance. He pressed like a beast, helping Liverpool remain unbeaten in their last three starts. As well as scoring against RB Leipzig, much to Mohamed Salah’s chagrin, he paid it forward with a well-timed run and the equalizing assist against Arsenal at the weekend.

Darwin Nunez is improving and bottling up to contain the chaos, and it’s going to be scary as he improves further this season.