It had been nearly 16 years since Liverpool last failed to register a shot on target in a Premier League game.

Rafa Benitez’s managerial reign was limping towards a sorry conclusion when they suffered a dismal 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic in March 2010. The damaging ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett had sent the club spiralling to the edge of the abyss.

Some 600 league matches later, Liverpool produced the same unwanted stat but this time the mood was very different. There were bouquets rather than brickbats as the away end showed their appreciation for the shift Arne Slot’s side put in at the Emirates on Thursday night.

They didn’t win and they didn’t score but this was undeniably a significant step forward for Liverpool as they became the first team to deny leaders Arsenal maximum points on home turf since Manchester City in September.

An unbeaten run, which now stands at 10 matches, has contained too many damaging draws and below-par displays for any feel-good factor to kick in. However, this was a stalemate that felt much more valuable – the kind of result and performance that should fuel belief for the challenges to come.

Liverpool’s title defence was effectively over by November given the array of problems Arne Slot found himself wrestling with. Yet here was a timely reminder that on their day they are still capable of competing with the best around.

It’s nonsensical that they have beaten Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Inter, and taken four points out of a possible six in shutting out Arsenal twice, while leaking 10 goals in chastening defeats by Brentford, Nottingham Forest and PSV.

A sense of trepidation had accompanied Liverpool’s trip to the capital given Arsenal’s superior form and the absence of Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah. However, Slot got his tactical plan spot on as they nullified the threat of Mikel Arteta’s side.

The first half was all about staying disciplined and compact as they only had 40 per cent of the ball and soaked up pressure. After the break, containment turned to dominance and they enjoyed 65 per cent possession as they outplayed the hosts. The 207 passes Liverpool completed in Arsenal’s half in the second half were the most by a visiting team at the Emirates in the last five Premier League seasons.

All that was missing was a bit more quality and composure in the final third. Their xG (expected goals) of just 0.36 and the failure to test goalkeeper David Raya didn’t do justice to the array of promising situations they created. If Ekitike had been fit enough to lead the line, Liverpool would surely have triumphed. The four saves Alisson had to make were all routine.

“Definitely happy with the performance and to a certain extent also with the result because Arsenal are having a great season,” Slot said.

“In the first half, they had much more ball possession than us, although in some spells you could already see how well we can play the ball out from the back and how many times we could play through them.

“In the second half, we defended a little bit better in their first build-up, so that made it more difficult for them and we were even better on the ball. The way we pressed their two centre-backs and their No 6 (defensive midfielder) was better in the second half. When they kicked it away, we could win it back and start playing again. But from all that ball possession you’re hoping for more chance creation. We were a lot of times very close.”

A gutsy night’s work from Liverpool was blighted by the sight of Conor Bradley being taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury deep into stoppage time. Slot admitted he “fears the worst” as they wait for scans to reveal the extent of the damage.

As the Northern Ireland right-back lay on the turf in agony, there was the sight of Arsenal substitute Gabriel Martinelli dropping the ball on him and then trying to shove him off the pitch so the game could continue. No wonder Bradley’s team-mates reacted so angrily. The Brazilian subsequently issued an apology as the academy graduate left the Emirates on crutches with his left knee in a brace.

Given the fitness battles Bradley has already faced in his Liverpool career, another lengthy spell on the side-lines would be cruel. He had come closest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the bar before the break following a mix-up between Raya and William Saliba.

Calvin Ramsay and Joe Gomez provide options for Slot at right-back. Jeremie Frimpong is required further forward, at least until Salah has returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Frimpong caused Arsenal plenty of problems with his pace and strength, providing a real outlet on the counter. After recovering from two injury setbacks, the Dutchman is starting to show why Liverpool regarded his signing from Bayer Leverkusen as such a coup. If only Frimpong’s final ball hadn’t let him down when he failed to pick out Florian Wirtz, who was waiting to tuck away the cutback from the byline.

Milos Kerkez produced his best display for the club since arriving from Bournemouth and kept Bukayo Saka relatively quiet. Alongside the Hungarian left-back, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate were rock solid as Arsenal didn’t muster a single shot between the 44th and 91st minutes. It helped that Liverpool’s midfield unit functioned so well, with Alexis MacAllister putting in a much-improved performance.

It spoke volumes about the depth available to the managers that Arteta brought on Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke in search of a winner, while Slot didn’t make a change until Gomez’s late arrival in place of Bradley.

“Both games (against Arsenal) have shown that both teams are very strong and very competitive against each other,” Slot added. “We won it because of a free kick (from Dominik Szoboszlai) at Anfield. Today there wasn’t a moment like that so that’s why it ended 0-0.

“The question is, why are we 14 points behind them? And for me that is so obvious. We struggle so much to unlock low blocks.”

That’s true to an extent. This was a different type of test for Liverpool compared to when they face opponents set up simply to frustrate them. They still need to find ways to combat that and create more.

But the gap to Arsenal has also widened because Slot’s side have given away so many poor goals and wilted too often when faced with adversity, especially on their travels. At the Emirates, they stood tall when depleted and played like a team fighting for each other and their manager. That means more than the point they earned.

• A Tell Media report / Adapted from The Athletic