Mikel Arteta shares what he told his Arsenal players after Liverpool draw
Mikel Arteta has instructed his players to rely on the quality they displayed in the first half of the 2-2 draw with Liverpool during the title race.
Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli scored two goals for Arsenal in the opening half-hour, demonstrating the team’s dazzling play. The Gunners were then pegged back by Mohamed Salah just before halftime, before substitute Roberto Firmino equalized in the 87th minute.
The Gunners were forced to rely on two miraculous saves from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to salvage a point at Anfield.
Arteta revealed to Sky Sports after the game that he instructed his players not to rely on their late-game ‘resilience’ during the tightly-contested Premier League title race.
“[We have to] convince them to keep playing like we did in the first 30 minutes. The lesson is not from the second half and the resilience. We don’t want to rely on that, we want to rely on what we did in the first half.”
Arteta also took the time to comment on how well his team performed in the first half an hour, and he admitted that conceding a ‘really sloppy goal’ before halftime altered the game’s complexion:
“The game was under control but after that we concede a really sloppy goal and the game shifted momentum. We started well in the first few minutes [of the second half] but then lost control. It became a very transitional game, very chaotic.
“Liverpool could score three or four. It is true we could have scored two or three so maybe at the end the score is fair.
“I haven’t seen anyone do it [dominate] in this ground this season. They beat every big team here, they played Real Madrid and could have been four up after 20 minutes. They are going to have moments. You need to deal with them and we did. Our goalkeeper had a big part in that.
“We could taken three points. We should do that [play like the first half] for another 15 minutes and then the game would have taken a very different trajectory. We didn’t. We have to take the point.”
Arsenal is currently six points ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League standings, with Manchester City having a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta shares what he told his Arsenal players after Liverpool draw
