Mikel Arteta is proud of Arsenal’s “guts” in preventing defeat at Liverpool.Mohamed Salah set up Gabriel’s opener as the Premier League’s top two sides drew 1-1 at Anfield on Saturday night.
Arsenal lead the Reds by a point in the top-flight clash, but Liverpool are unbeaten after hitting the post twice in the top-flight clash.
Loud calls for a penalty in the second half and first half were turned down after Martin Odegaard was tackled inside the area. “It was a fantastic game of football, one of the most intense and passionate matches I have seen in this competition in the last 20 years,” said a delighted Arteta. It’s amazing to see.
The boys showed courage to play at this level. I think our players deserve a lot of credit. I think the whole team did a great job. This is one of the best Liverpool we have seen this year.
They made life difficult for us and we did very well. “It was a completely different game to last season (when Arsenal were leading 2-0 and drawing 2-2). It was a different atmosphere in the stadium that he created. I think we can be proud of the perfection and courage we showed.“The team was really dominant in the last 20 minutes and we wanted to get the three points.
“That’s the only thing I regret after the game.”Arsenal had to weather the storm early in the second half as Liverpool piled on the pressure at the Kop. And Arteta said: “When we bring them back, we pass the ball a lot and they counter-press very well.” We lost in the area and could have been punished, but we created a lot of chances that they didn’t like.
The Gunners have now topped the table at Christmas for the second season in a row, but lost three in a row to Manchester City in the final months of last year.
At the top, Arteta said: “This is the best league in the world, leading the team for two years in a row, showing great stability for a new group. We are where we want to be, both in the Premier League and in the Champions League. “But more than anything, we need to build on the dominance we’ve shown and improve our breakdown game. “Some games are too close.”
