Mikel Arteta once used a specific Spanish word to describe the helpless feeling he experienced while playing at Anfield for Everton back in 2011: bajar. He explained in a documentary that it feels just like a cyclist who is riding uphill and looking fantastic, only to suddenly hit a wall and struggle immensely. He mentioned that the match was going smoothly before he could suddenly only spot red shirts flying past him, unable to react. He noted that he only ever felt that way once in his entire professional career, and it happened right there at Anfield.
Considering Arteta’s history at the famous stadium, an upcoming showdown against his childhood friend Andoni Iraola could easily fill him with dread, especially coming right after Arsenal were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Fleetwood. Arteta eventually tasted victory there as an Arsenal player back in September 2012 following five previous unsuccessful attempts in the Merseyside derby. However, that night ended with him staying in the hospital with a concussion after a heavy collision with Jordan Henderson, an event he once described as the biggest fear of his life.
Arteta was part of the squad that secured another win at Anfield six months later thanks to goals from new arrivals Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla. Unfortunately, that remains the last time the club managed to triumph there in the Premier League. They have now gone 13 league matches without a win at Liverpool, matching the club’s worst-ever run at the venue. Their only victory at Liverpool in the interim period came during a League Cup penalty shootout back in 2020 during Arteta’s second visit as manager.
The Spanish manager previously tried preparing his squad for a trip to Anfield in November 2021 by blasting the anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone through the training ground speakers, though that experiment ultimately concluded in a disappointing 4-0 defeat. Following a loss late last August when Dominik Szoboszlai scored a late free-kick to end a sequence of three consecutive draws at Liverpool, Arteta faced criticism for seemingly refusing to take off the handbrake after starting Mikel Merino as his number 10. Pundits like Gary Neville went as far as suggesting that Arsenal lacked the mental toughness required to win major fixtures at difficult away grounds, a claim that surely stung the manager, particularly since they have not beaten Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad since 2015 under Arsène Wenger.
Arteta will undoubtedly want to shatter such narratives, particularly after his squad struggled against a side situated 84 places below them in the football pyramid at a venue holding fewer than 6,000 supporters. Strikers Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres surprisingly started together at Fleetwood, likely as an effort to ease the burden on Martin Ødegaard, though both currently appear to be lacking form. Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka remains sidelined with a thigh injury, there are ongoing doubts regarding Noni Madueke’s ankle, and an unsuccessful appeal concerning Max Dowman’s red card means the teenager is suspended for three matches.
With those squad issues in mind, Arteta’s best path toward defeating Liverpool is likely found in adopting the cautious, disciplined strategy that has worked so well for him and formed the foundation of their recent domestic title challenges. He can draw direct inspiration from one of the most legendary nights in the club’s history 37 years ago, when George Graham’s team traveled to Anfield needing a two-goal victory to secure the championship.
Reflecting on that dramatic conclusion to the 1988-89 season when Michael Thomas scored late in stoppage time to end an 18-year title drought, Graham explained that he instructed his players to maintain a tight defensive shape during the first half and emphasized the absolute necessity of avoiding an early concession. He noted that while the media suggested they needed to attack from the very beginning, he remained certain that approach was wrong, pointing out that an early Liverpool goal would have ended their chances immediately, whereas Liverpool ultimately did very little attacking and played right into their hands.
Prior to that historic 1989 fixture, Arsenal players walked to all four corners of the pitch to present flowers to Liverpool supporters as a gesture of sympathy following the Hillsborough disaster the previous month, an initiative proposed by their long-serving director Ken Friar, who recently passed away.
Both Graham and Arteta were 44 years old when they secured their first league titles, and the parallels between the two figures do not stop there. The former Scottish midfielder, who netted nearly 80 goals for Arsenal and helped them claim the Double in 1971, became famous for his defensive solidity as a manager, with the chant “1-0 to the Arsenal” becoming closely associated with his tenure, particularly in his later years at the club. Arteta has successfully revived that defensive tradition since taking charge in December 2019, having secured 1-0 victories 32 times in the Premier League, a total surpassed only by Everton.
Arsenal secured their first set-piece goal of the campaign during a straightforward 2-0 home victory against Everton, and targeting Liverpool’s vulnerabilities from dead-ball situations while maintaining defensive rigidity at the other end could prove to be the most effective tactical approach against an opponent still finding its footing under Iraola.
Discussing the comparisons drawn between his current squad and Graham’s historical teams, Arteta acknowledged the collective importance of defending, stating that the team knows excellence in that phase of the match drastically increases their probability of securing victories.
Following their penalty shootout defeat against Fleetwood, Arsenal flew back to London, an exit that likely brought back painful memories of their Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain back in May. While the Carabao Cup has historically stretched Arteta’s squad thin in previous seasons when they reached the semi-finals and final respectively, their early elimination offers a silver lining regarding fixture congestion—though an ultra-competitive manager like Arteta is unlikely to view it that way. For him, the only appropriate reaction to a deeply frustrating night will be attempting to follow in George Graham’s footsteps.
My Take on Arsenal’s Anfield Challenge
From where I sit, looking at how modern football narratives are constructed, the pressure on Mikel Arteta heading into this fixture feels both exaggerated and entirely predictable. Football discourse loves a simple storyline—either a team is fluid and unstoppable, or they supposedly lack the psychological fortitude to get over the line in major stadiums. Based on the facts presented in the source text, Arsenal’s struggles at Anfield are well-documented and stretch back long before Arteta took the managerial reins, making it a generational hurdle rather than a flaw unique to his specific tenure.
At the same time, I find it fascinating how football history often offers cyclical solutions to contemporary problems. Drawing inspiration from George Graham’s pragmatic, defensively sound approach is not a sign of regression; rather, it is a reminder that winning titles often requires grinding out results rather than trying to out-flamboyance the opposition at their own historic fortress. Opinion-wise, I believe Arteta’s ability to lean into that “1-0 to the Arsenal” grit might just be the exact antidote needed to silence critics who mistake caution for a lack of ambition, especially when dealing with an injury-hit squad.
source: theguardian.com (www.theguardian.com)