Mikel Arteta proclaimed that Arsenal are back in the thick of the title race after their resounding 3-1 win against Liverpool, saying they have shown the elite mentality that sets the top teams apart.
Arsenal recovered from a Gabriel Magalhães own goal, which gave Liverpool a fortunate equaliser on the stroke of half-time, to pull clear through strikes by Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. There was a large element of luck to Martinelli’s goal too, a mix-up between Alisson and Virgil van Dijk leaving the visitors’ net empty, but Arteta’s side thoroughly deserved the victory and now sit two points behind the leaders.
“We are there, that’s for sure,” Arteta said when asked if a title tilt was back on. “We want to continue to be there. We’ve been really consistent all season, if not you aren’t where we are today. We take it game by game and the availability of the squad is going to be crucial, we have learned that from last season. Let’s try to make that happen.”
To that end there was concern when Oleksandr Zinchenko, who Arteta said had “some feeling in his calf”, departed at half-time. The Ukrainian’s state is unclear but Bukayo Saka, who also went off early after what his manager called “a kick to the ankle or the back of his foot”, was not seriously hurt. Gabriel Jesus, who missed the game with a knee problem, could be back for the trip to West Ham on Sunday.
Arteta was thrilled with his players’ mental resolve. “We have shown that today. The thing is, to be the best and have the best mentality you have to do it every three days. That is the challenge that we have. Certainly we showed that today against, in my opinion, the most in-form team in Europe.
“It was an extraordinary game. An incredible performance from the players and our people. I think the players left absolutely everything. They put their heart and soul in every single ball.”
A disappointed Van Dijk apologised for his role in the decisive 67th‑minute misunderstanding with Alisson, who seemed more at fault to the naked eye. “I take full responsibility for that,” he said. “That is a big moment in the game. I should have made a better decision. It hurts for me. The turning point is my responsibility, I should try to clear [the ball]. Obviously these things don’t happen too often in my career, but I will recover from this.”
Jürgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side lost in the league for only the second time this season, backed the two offenders. “It just shows they’re human beings and that makes the things they usually do even more special,” he said. “Arsenal deserved the three points, no doubt about that. On the whole 90 minutes we weren’t good enough.”
Manchester City will leapfrog Arsenal into second place on goal difference if they beat Brentford on Monday in one of their two games in hand, leaving two rivals breathing down Liverpool’s necks. Klopp, though, refused to look over his shoulder.
“We have to play to our potential, deal with difficulties in the game, play with our soul on the pitch and see where it ends up,” he said. “I didn’t become nervous now because of two games in hand for Manchester City.”
