Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot will have interesting thoughts from North London after Arsenal vs Liverpool ended in a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal had control in the first half and Liverpool the second in a rain-soaked game that went down to the very wire.
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Danger wasn’t the name of the game unless you’re counting the footing of a very wet North London pitch, and Arsenal were not rewarded for an adventurous first half.
Here are the words from the bosses in North London.
Mikel Arteta reaction after Arsenal v Liverpool
Better to draw than lose: “We know that the margins are very small. We had two different halves. The first half we had a lot of domination and we didn’t find the right pass to score the goal. The second half we were very imprecise with the ball and it allowed them to counter press. I don’t think we conceded a single shot apart from our mistake in the second half. This game needed a magic moment. At Anfield, Szoboszlai did it. This one, no. You said it, if you cannot win it but you cannot lose it.”
On failing to score in a dominant first half: “We were royally imprecise to generate more momentum in the final third and to have better chances. That’s what happened in the first half against Villa but we then picked the right place to score. Credit to them they were very organized. They were very patient when they don’t have to pressure and they have terrific players — they are the Premier League winners.”
On the toughness of the game: “They have a lot of midfielders and they can occupy very different spaces and move very far from our organizations. That’s what we expected and what happened but we should’ve done better.”
What did you see on Martinelli shoving the injured Conor Bradley? “Probably he doesn’t know [Bradley is really hurt] because knowing Gabby that’s not his intention to do anything bad to him.”
Arne Slot reaction after Arsenal v Liverpool
Thoughts on the game: “In the first half they were the team that played most on our half. Led to a few moments of crosses but not big chances. Second half was exactly the opposite. The only thing that missed maybe from my side was, again, not for the first time, from all that ball possession you are hoping to create even more chances but against an Arsenal team that have great momentum, to put in a performance like this is something I’m very positive about.”
What changed at halftime? “There were spells in the first half where we showed how good we are in ball possession. We did that in the second half and we kept them in their own half. Our biggest chance of the game came via 15, 20 passes. Second half the way we defended was a bit better. We had to adjust one or two details. In combination with us being good on the ball. In the end I’m still a little bit disappointed that we didn’t win, but a good performance.”
Was it good to see you strong in a big game: “I’ve said 150 times already that against certain playing styles we are a very good team and against certain playing styles we struggled. Maybe you could see that today but even against the low block or Arsenal we struggled. That’s one of the reasons we are so many points behind them. It’s good that we show that we can compete with anyone in England, and maybe in Europe.”
What are your goals for the other competitons: “Don’t forget the FA Cup. Let’s first hope that the injuries can come back as soon as possible but I’m afraid that another injury has come up today. Let’s hope for the best but I fear the worst for Conor Bradley.”
How did you feel about Gabriel Martinelli shoving an injured Conor Bradley off the pitch: “If a player of ours is on the floor people might know by now that 99 out of 100 times there’s something wrong with the player. You could see this. You don’t like to see a player being moved when he might have such a big injury.”
