Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta makes a baffling statement after Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp humbles his team in the FA Cup
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta asserts his team deserved victory despite Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp outsmarting them. Liverpool beat Arsenal 0-2 at the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup third-round clash giving chances to the youth players.
The Reds are facing an injury crisis after losing their specialist left-backs Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas. Furthermore, Joel Matip suffered a season-ending injury against Fulham in November, shortening the defensive options for Klopp.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk missed the trip due to illness and Dominik Szoboszlai due to a hamstring injury. Furthermore, the Reds played their first game since Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo departed for their respective international duties. Salah captains Egypt in the AFCON tournament while Endo captains Japan in the Asian Cup, missing many upcoming Liverpool games.
The Reds deployed a different tactic to compensate for all the losses while Arsenal played their strongest starting eleven. Only Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko missed the game among their recent regular starters, looking to rectify their recent form.
The Gunners started the game better than the Reds, using the home crowd advantage to build a flurry of attacks. However, Liverpool defended every attack well with only Martin Odegaard coming closer by hitting the crossbar in the first half.
Klopp used to second half to make tactical changes that completely outsmarted Arteta as Liverpool fought back into the game. The Reds hit the crossbar twice in the second half and managed to carve open Arsenal’s defence twice.
The German deployed youngsters Bobby Clark and Conor Bradley in the 75th minute, shocking the social media. However, the smart tactical move allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold to play in midfield while Bradley eliminated the threat from Gabriel Martinelli.
Trent’s influence took the game away from the Gunners when Liverpool broke the deadlock in the 80th minute. The Reds wrapped up the victory in the extra time with an impeccable counter-attacking goal from Luis Diaz.
Speaking to the reporter after the game (h/t BBC), Arteta made the baffling claim that his side deserved to win. He said:
“The performance for sure was there, the amount of chances, situations. Performance-wise, we deserved to win the game, there’s no question about that. But actually, we lost it, so we’re not capitalising. In football, in sport, you have to capitalise to win games, and at the moment, we aren’t doing it.”
Arteta’s comment brought ridicule from social media as his side lost to a young but brave Liverpool squad. In stats, The Gunners edged the game slightly in possession with 55% control and 18 shots against Liverpool’s 12. However, most of their dominance came in the first half before Klopp made his incisive tactical changes to win. Ultimately, what matters is who sticks the ball in the back of the net and we managed to do that.
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Arteta would be right if the games are one in one half but they are not and Liverpool outplayed his team in the second half. We don’t think Klopp would care about what Arsenal fans or Arteta think as there are important fixtures coming up. Liverpool plays Fulham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals and need to continue their form.
