Mikel Arteta and Andoni Iraola embrace before the Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Mikel Arteta finally has an Anfield victory to his name as a manager after Arsenal beat Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday.
Despite the Spaniard being into his eighth season in charge of the Gunners, he had been yet to beat the Reds on their own patch until a referee-aided win allowed him to change that.
Liverpool should have had a penalty for a shirt pull on Alexander Isak during the first-half, but after conveniently declaring that he did not see the incident in question, Arteta patronised the Reds with some fairly smug praise.
Liverpool are beaten by Arsenal at Anfield. Give your reaction to that display…
Not too damaging a defeat overall. Title isn't realistic this season but I'm confident we can finish in the top three. The performances are improving, the team just isn't in a position to compete for the PL yet but nobody expected them to
Really good from 20 mins to about 70, but started and ended poorly. Not enough clearcut chances in a packed penalty area - Liverpool's attackers have quality but they're not devastating like Salah and Mane
Decent performance, but we have to create more. I know they are great defensively but the game was ours for the taking. Lack of quality up top cost us.
Arteta wants to give credit to Liverpool
You have to hand it to Arteta, he has certainly failed, failed and failed again, but has kept on plugging away at the chance to beat Liverpool at Anfield.
Having collected the Premier League title last season, the former Everton man appears to now see himself as the wise sage of the division, and gave his fellow Basque Andoni Iraola a pat on the head for his attempts on Sunday.
“I want to give credit to Liverpool as well,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference.
“The manner that they played, the way that they set up, to Andoni, because what they are doing, they are a top side. It’s very difficult, that’s why I think winning here deserves even more credit.”
With Liverpool no doubt feeling better about themselves following the words of such an esteemed manager, Arteta was told that his team had actually prevented the Reds from having a shot on target at Anfield for the first time in Premier League history.
“There were very little margins sometimes when they had the opportunity to shoot, and it’s a team that shoots a lot, so you have to be so good at blocking shots and preventing those spaces for them to get into there,” he said.
“It’s a commitment of every single player in every action consistently to deliver those kinds of stats and to do it against this team is something remarkable I would say.”
Somehow, Arteta’s self-congratulatory tone is somehow even worse than the defeat.