Mikel Arteta declared Arsenal back in the title race after a 3-1 win over Liverpool and said they showed the elite mentality that makes top teams stand out.
Arsenal recovered from a Gabriel Magalhães own goal to set up a lucky equalizer for Liverpool on the stroke of half-time, through goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard Even the score. There was also a lot of luck in Martinelli’s goal, with a mistake between Alisson and Van Dijk leaving the visitors’ goal empty, but Arteta’s side fully deserved the victory and are now two points behind the leaders. .
“We’re there, that’s for sure,” Arteta said when asked if the title tilt was back on the horizon. “We want to continue to be there. We’ve been very consistent all season otherwise it’s up to us. Not to the level we are today. We take it game by game and the availability of the team will be crucial and we know that from last season. Let’s work hard to achieve that.”
To this end, concerns were raised when Alexander Zinchenko, who Arteta said “had some feeling in his calf”, left at half-time. The Ukrainian’s status is unclear, but Bukayo Saka also left the field early with what his manager described as “a kick to the ankle or instep” and suffered no serious injury. Gabriel Jesus, who has missed the game with a knee problem, could return against West Ham on Sunday.
Arteta was delighted with the mental determination of his players. “We have proven that today. The thing is, to be the best and have the best mentality, you have to do it every three days. That’s the challenge we face. Of course, in my opinion, we played today against Europe This is proven when the team is in the best form.
“It was an extraordinary game. The performance of the players and our staff was unbelievable. I think the players left everything behind. They put their heart and soul into every ball.”
A disappointed Van Dijk apologized for his role in the fateful misunderstanding with Alisson in the 67th minute, but to the naked eye, Alisson was more at fault. “I take full responsibility for this,” he said. “That was an important moment in the game. I should have made better decisions. It was painful for me. The turning point was my responsibility and I should try to clear it [the ball]. Obviously these things won’t happen very often in my career, but I will bounce back from them. “
Jürgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side suffered only their second defeat in the league this season, backed the two offenders. “It just shows that they’re human and it makes what they normally do that much more special,” he said. “There is no doubt that Arsenal deserved these three points. We were not good enough throughout the 90 minutes.”
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If City beat Brentford in one of their two games on Monday, they will move above Arsenal into second place on goal difference, leaving both rivals hot on the heels of Liverpool. Yet Klopp refused to look back.
“We have to fulfill our potential, deal with the difficulties in the game, play with our souls on the pitch and see what the end result is,” he said. “I’m not getting nervous now because City have two games left.”
