[ad_1]
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has praised his players for an “unbelievable” 1-1 draw at Liverpool to sit top at Christmas for a second consecutive season.
Gabriel’s fourth minute header was cancelled out by Mohammed Salah’s equaliser 25 minutes later in a competitive but scrappy contest at Anfield, which meant that Arteta’s Gunners sit top at Christmas for a second consecutive season.
Speaking post-match, Arteta was enthused by the thrilling battle that had unfolded from the perspective of a player turned manager, as both teams produced 13 shots of which Liverpool converted three of their shots onto target to Arsenal’s two shots.
“It was an unbelievable game of football, one of the most intense and hectic games that I have witnessed in 20 years in this league. The quality, the intentions of both teams…
“It was superb to watch it and we as a team with the boys willing to play at that level, to have the courage to play at that level, the determination and belief to do what we’ve done here, I think my players deserve big, big credit.”
Arteta consequently felt that Arsenal’s open play was poor compared to their set pieces as he explained: “We should have done better from many situations we had in the final third in open play because we generated a lot and that is a little bit of regret.
“At the other end, it is true that they had some moments, especially the one after our corner when they went through and we had a miscommunication on the edge. It is a big quality of them and we were lucky not to concede a goal.”
The 1-1 draw also marked the second straight season in which Arsenal threw away a lead at Liverpool, having blown a two-goal lead to eventually draw 2-2 in April which contributed towards the eventual collapse of their title ambitions.
Arteta though noted that there was a marked improvement this time round with players like William Saliba and Eddie Nketiah available – having missed the trip in April due to injuries.
“Especially, when you have to play this type of game that they propose and you cannot get away from that type of game because they are really good at doing that.
“But then in the last 20 minutes I think that the team was very willing to win it and they were really dominant and really wanted to go and get the three points.”
The Spaniard felt that his team learned from that performance as he continued: “We have the experience of being where we are today and we should be really happy because that shows a lot of consistency for this new group in the best league in the world to be there two years in a row but that’s it.
“We are where we want to be right now, both in the Premier League and the Champions League and we all deserve a beautiful dinner tomorrow with our families but the next day we are back on it because West Ham is going to be very, very tough again.”
Arteta added that the experience of last season meant that the players showed more “maturity and the courage” in this match, which left him “… really proud of our players.”
Arsenal currently sit top from Liverpool by one point with Aston Villa just behind Liverpool on goal difference, whilst North London rivals – Tottenham are four points off the Gunners.
Acknowledging how open this title race is, Arteta iterated that his team has work to do if want to go one step further than last season.
“There are some things we have to improve, especially killing games with the amount of dominance that we are showing. Sometimes the results have been too close, where we have had to dig in the last few minutes to maintain results and that is it, nothing else.
“Hopefully, we have sustained that level with five key players out because we lost five very, very important players for us for many, many months and the team has still shown that so that is something we really have to maintain which is the quality in the squad and how willing they are to do what they do every single day.”
Related
[ad_2]
