On Sunday, Arsenal traveled to Anfield to take on a Liverpool side that looked to be finding their feet under new manager Andoni Iraola. The Reds, after some growing pains, entered the clash with an opportunity to announce themselves as surprise contenders in the Premier League title race. A win against the Gunners would have taken them within three points of Manchester City and the reigning champions.
Instead, Arsenal exploited Liverpool’s aggressive press, playing through it straightforwardly and entering the hosts’ final third often. They also deployed their own aggressive press against Iraola’s men, hounding the back line as they attempted to play out. This of course led to the game’s only goal — Martin Ødegaard seized upon loose play from Alisson and Jérémy Jacquet before Declan Rice’s third-man run was rewarded and the Englishman delivered a perfect low cross for Kai Havertz to smack the ball into an empty net. If not for Jurriën Timber getting in the way of a ball back across the goal from Noni Madueke, Havertz would have snagged a brace and Arsenal would have been two goals to the good. For a time, the champions threatened to run rampant.
But then Iraola made adjustments and suddenly, Liverpool were able to sustain waves of attack. After an opening 20 minutes in which Arsenal controlled a massive game fairly well, the visitors were penned in in their own third. Much of the second half was a barrage of crosses by the previous champions into the penalty area of the current ones.
And yet, this was but another trap that Arsenal had laid. While most other teams would greatly fear this sort of situation, Mikel Arteta’s men seem to relish it. For that is their superpower. More than perhaps any other team on the planet, the Gunners are world class at holding onto leads, at keeping desperate-to-score opponents at arm’s length, at gutting out wins.
It is one of the biggest reasons, if not the standalone reason, why Arsenal are the reigning Premier League champions. They may not have the flashiest forwards and they may not score truckloads of goals. But their defense is easily the most talented in the land, and it can stifle any attack to maximize even the thinnest margins. In effect, the Gunners can control games without having the ball.
So, despite the nerves and the heart palpitations and the days taken off our lives, Arsenal withstood the Liverpool siege to leave Anfield with a 1-0 win. It is the first time in 14 years that the Gunners have claimed victory at the ground. It is also the first time in the history of the Premier League that any team has prevented Liverpool from registering a shot on target in their stadium.
It was a big result for Arteta’s charges. On a weekend during which Manchester City suffered their second league loss on the bounce, the Gunners’ win firmly reestablished the champions as the team to beat this season. They now lead the English top flight outright and sit nine points above Liverpool.
But there is a phenomenon that occurs whenever Arsenal achieve an important result. We saw it when they secured draws at the Etihad Stadium. We saw it last October when they were so dominant they went a whole month without conceding a goal in all competitions. We saw it at the end of last season as the Gunners ground out narrow wins to close out their title charge.
That phenomenon is a wave of backlash from various media outlets and sections of rival fans over how Arsenal earn their victories. At this point, we know all the tired insults. Every time the Gunners get one over in crucial circumstances or otherwise collect another impressive scalp, one can so easily predict the lazy insults that will soon litter their social media timelines.
Arsenal are boring and they don’t actually play football.
Their fans are annoying and the worst group of supporters around.
Arteta is classless and unlikeable.
Arsenal just sit in a low block for 90% of the game.
My personal favorite: Gabriel is a diving cheat.
Wah, wah, wah.
Obviously, these are bitter outbursts from rattled sore losers. Such complaints contain the same level of maturity as a child insisting, “It’s not fair!” Because what are Arsenal supposed to do? Needlessly overcommit in attack and let opponents storm down the field on the counter? Refrain from closing down opposition forwards and give them space to shoot?
It is sour grapes, plain and simple. There are no existential issues with how Arsenal choose to go about their football. It can be a stodgy watch, but the aesthetics of the Gunners’ defensive mastery are only a concern for those don’t love football when it isn’t pretty. It is bad faith poorly disguised as high-minded critique.
We’ve known this for quite some time, of course. As I said before, this isn’t a new phenomenon. But during this round of rival acrimony, I saw a few Liverpool fans pose a question to Arsenal supporters that I think perfect illustrates the irrationality of some of the hatred that the Gunners still get.
That query was, are Arsenal fans proud of how their team plays? Do they really enjoy what they’re seeing?
While I try not to make a habit of centering pieces too much around online discourse, I do think it’s important to respond here. Because I want to make unequivocally clear to anyone who thinks that Gooners are lying to themselves just to fit in, are going along with an era they don’t agree for no reason other than bragging rights, that they are dead wrong. Of course I’m proud of this team.
I’m proud of the grit these players show week in and week out. These players are legitimate superstars. Rice, Gabriel, and William Saliba are underrated Ballon d’Or candidates while David Raya was robbed of the most recent Goalkeeper of the Year Award because of the extreme overweighting of World Cup showings. The likes of Ødegaard, Havertz, Timber, Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori, are also a great season away from being featured at the 2027 ceremony. Footballers as good as these very often view doing this amount of dirty work as beneath them.
And yet, Arsenal are always prepared for a scrap. These players are comfortable in the trenches, gladly defending with their bodies on the line for as long as it takes to finish on top. They not only respect, but embrace the attritional nature of the league. These gentlemen will neatly fold and set down their Prada and Hermès before diving headfirst into a bar fight.