“Ruthless” Arsenal are back in the title race: Arteta

LONDON:

Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s “ruthless” 3-1 win against champions Liverpool on Sunday which helped the Gunners boost their title hopes.

Arteta’s second team moved to within two points of Liverpool thanks to a strong display at the Emirates Stadium and helped by a mix-up between Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defender Virgil van Dijk.

After taking an early lead through Bucayo Saka, Arsenal were knocked out late in the first half by a Gabriel Magalhaes own goal.

But Liverpool gift-wrapped Arsenal’s win after the break when Alisson went off his line to meet a long ball and completely missed his clearance, with Van Dijk also failing to react in time as Gabriel Martinelli sent over on the empty hearth.

Liverpool had Ibrahim Konate sent off in the closing stages before Leandro Trossard’s late strike, which went through Alisson’s legs after Van Dijk’s save, sparked a wild celebration from Arteta.

Defeats to West Ham and Fulham in the league over Christmas, combined with an FA Cup third-round defeat to Liverpool, had raised the prospect of Arsenal collapsing.

But Arteta knows they have opened up the title race with their priceless three points.

“We were ruthless when we had the chance and it feels like a big win,” he said.

“At the moment Liverpool are probably the best team in Europe and the levels they have, they are an incredible team.

“We’ve come this far and now it’s about doing it consistently. Liverpool have done it for six to seven years.

“It gives us momentum and the way we’ve done it, we’re back at it. I’m really excited.”

Arteta admitted he knew how important it was to beat Liverpool, who would have moved eight points clear of the Gunners with a win.

“It was a huge game that was going to dictate where we are and where we’re going to be,” he said.

“What the players produced was amazing. Especially with the performance we had in the first half and the chances we created, the way we were conceded was painful.

“We couldn’t feel sorry for ourselves, we had to react and we had a lot to play for. We went out and struggled a bit.

“Basically the message was there were going to be tough times and we had to get through them. Tonight we’re going to enjoy it because we worked so hard to win it.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refused to condemn Alisson for his part in the disastrous defeat.

“It just shows that the boys are human beings. We were really human today. We gave them all the momentum,” he said.

Van Dijk defended Alisson, saying: “I take full responsibility for it. This is a great moment in the game.

“I should have made a better decision. Allison touched me a little bit and he couldn’t clean it up. I had to try to clean it up.”

As they sank Liverpool’s first home defeat in all competitions since the Premier League defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in September, Klopp admitted he had no complaints about the result.

“Congratulations to Arsenal. We weren’t good enough today. We can say they deserved the points,” he said.

“We found a way to get into the game. No shot on target, but we scored a goal. Second half, we had our moments and then conceded that goal. That doesn’t help.

“They scored goals and they were a lot better than us. We have to play better football, that’s for sure. We didn’t get involved in the game enough.”