Unai Emery was convinced. “We are closer than last time,” the Arsenal manager insisted after his side’s 3-1 defeat at Anfield. And he was right: compared to the 5-1 shellacking in December, they are closer in the sense that now they need to employ binoculars rather than a telescope to watch the European champions disappear away at the top of the league.

Because while not being thrashed as badly this time must represent progress of sorts, more accurate examination would suggest that, on the first encounter with either of last season’s runaway outliers, Liverpool and Manchester City, the distance Arsenal need to catch up remains a gulf. Less mind the gap, more beware the canyon.

The fact is that while Arsenal may have marginally improved, there is no hint that Liverpool have diminished from last season’s 27-point margin over the Gunners.

There was not the slightest intimation of their players suffering any hangover from playing on into June. Despite it being the kind of weather when some fans think it appropriate to dig out their three-quarter length trousers, the home side still applied an insistent heat that is way beyond even this revamped Arsenal’s capabilities to withstand.

“We are well prepared,” said their manager Jurgen Klopp, suggesting momentum alone is not sufficient to maintain his team’s relentless press. “We use every second of pre-season to be ready.”