Arteta hails ‘remarkable’ Arsenal win at Anfield to end 14-year hoodoo

Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta lauded Liverpool and manager Andoni Iraola after leading the Gunners to a 1-0 Premier League victory at Anfield—their first win at the stadium since 2012, according to the Liverpool Echo.​

Kai Havertz scored the deciding goal as Arsenal responded to a midweek Carabao Cup exit. Despite heavy pressure, Liverpool failed to record a shot on target for the first time in a Premier League home match since 2003.​

Reflecting on the achievement, Arteta stated:​“I want to give credit to Liverpool, the manner that they played, the way they are set up. To Andoni and what they’re doing because they are a top side, and it’s very difficult. That’s why I think winning here deserves even more credit. I didn’t know about that stat, but that’s incredible.”

​“It didn’t feel like this to be fair on the pitch because there were very little margins sometimes when they had the opportunity to shoot, and it’s a team that shoots a lot. So you have to be so good at blocking shots and preventing those spaces for them to get into there. It’s our commitment of every single player in every action consistently to deliver those kind of stats and to do it against this team. It’s something remarkable, I would say.”

​“It feels better (to win here) as a manager because it’s been such a long time without having this feeling here that we really needed it. We are extremely proud of what the team, the players, everybody has done, and especially in the conditions that we arrived to this game. Where we were after the defeat against Fleetwood, it looks like the end of the world. It looks like: ‘Yeah, what are we doing?’”​

“And then you have to pick yourself up. Understand that this is the beautiful part of this game: that when you believe that you have done everything and deserve to win the game clearly, you are out of a cup. And then four days later, you have to come to Anfield, against this manager, against this team that are in a really good moment and compete, perform, and earn the right to win the game in the manner that we’ve done.”

​Regarding Liverpool’s penalty claims, Arteta added:​ “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it. I will have to comment on a lot of actions that happened in the game, otherwise.”