Arsenal vs Liverpool: Arteta ‘has a lot of work to do’ says pundit
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be pleased with his team's defensive maturity after Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Liverpool, because their centre-backs played well without "messing around". That's the opinion of Liverpool hero Steve McManaman, who was full of praise for the way they adapted after some early slip-ups.
Arsenal secured a surprise win at the Emirates, as they prevented Liverpool from having the chance to break the 100-point record.
Sadio Mane opened the scoring for the visitors, poking in from close range after wandering into the box unmarked.
Liverpool's first goal nearly came as a result of an error from Emiliano Martinez, as the goalkeeper took too long on the ball before clearing, only to cannon his clearance into Roberto Firmino.
Luckily, the ball trickled wide, and Arsenal quickly began clearing the ball a lot earlier from the back.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
"But after about 15 minutes the message came through and everything went long, they didn't make any mistakes, and that's all you can ask for.
"The allowed Liverpool to play wide, allowed them to cross the ball in and attack down the flanks, because they were comfortable that anything came across, they'd clear.
"It worked today, and whether that was the plan because that's how they'll face Manchester City, who dominate possession like Liverpool did [I don't know] And they'll fancy themselves against Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva or Raheem Sterling in the air?
"That worked, and that's all we ask from for Arsenal, the consistency in that block of central defence and central midfield, they're hard to beat."
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here