The crunch is not going well. The first two matches of the first of two crucial four-game spells in the second half of the season have yielded just a solitary point for Arsenal, and the familiar feeling of February collapse is beginning to set in.

Sunday afternoon’s fixture against Liverpool feels vital, not just in terms of progression to the sixth round of the FA Cup, but also in terms of the mood of the whole season.

Should Arsenal lose to Liverpool and follow that up by losing to Bayern Munich in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday, the effect on morale could be devastating – even if they are only a point off Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The grumbling of fans has begun already: there were boos after the 0-0 draw against Manchester United last Wednesday and, just as the early season optimism was predicated on the record-signing Mesut Ozil, he now is beginning to be targeted for criticism.

The Germany international looks weary, and perhaps that is understandable. At Real Madrid, doubts about his stamina meant he was regularly substituted.

Of 23 games he started in the Spanish Primera Liga last season, Ozil finished only nine. Factor in the increased pace and physicality of the English Premier League and the lack of a winter break he is used to and it is hardly surprising if he is feeling exhausted.

Ozil’s form has not been helped by injuries to Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott, dynamic players whose pace and ability to make runs behind defenders offered him passing options. In recent games, Arsenal have been static going forward, lacking the directness that was so important early in the season.

But this is a more fundamental issue with Ozil. Jose Mourinho – whose standards are admittedly exacting – always saw him, for all his creative qualities, as a luxury player, somebody who could not be relied upon to perform his defensive duties.

Ozil’s deficiency in that area was exposed at Anfield as he essentially allowed Steven Gerrard to run the game from the back of midfield.

Arsenal’s other big tactical problem was their inability to prevent Liverpool running at their centre-backs. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have both had fine seasons, but neither is comfortable if opponents charge at them, something that was apparent on the opening day of the season when Gabriel Agbonlahor’s running was central to Aston Villa’s 3-1 win at the Emirates.

Since then, Arsenal’s holding midfielders – two of Mikel Arteta, Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini – have done a fine job of protecting that space in front of the centre-backs and stopping opponents getting a run at Koscielny and Mertesacker, but that guard disintegrated at Anfield.

The goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny says that Wednesday’s clean sheet against United – achieved with the handbrake, in Wenger parlance, very much on – shows Arsenal have recovered.

“I thought we were solid defensively, as we always are at home,” he said. “We didn’t get the three points and that’s disappointing, but I think we got back on track with the clean sheet.”

But United are not Liverpool, and that defence was ripped apart last Saturday.

That was in part down to personnel. Ramsey is still be out as he recovers from a thigh problem, but Flamini, suspended last week, will return, which should help.

But Arteta, having played 15 Premier League games, a League Cup match, an FA Cup match and five Champions League games since returning from injury at the end of September, looks just as tired as Ozil.

In this instance, the familiar gripe of fans that their club had not been active enough in the transfer market is true: the squad simply is not big enough to compete on all fronts, and the result is key players missing and additional strain on those who are still fit.

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