‘Exceptional’ – Mikel Arteta hails one ‘special’ Liverpool trait after pulsating Anfield draw

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Mikel Arteta praised Liverpool as an ‘exceptional’ team and described the Anfield atmosphere as ‘special’ following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at the venue on Sunday.

The Gunners saw their seven-game winning streak in the Premier League ended yesterday as they relinquished a two-goal lead to be left with a point, and they needed some magnificent saves from Aaron Ramsdale to ensure that they weren’t beaten.

Despite the Reds languishing in eighth place and now winless in five matches in all competitions, the 41-year-old still had high praise for Jurgen Klopp’s side, while also alluding to how difficult it can be for visiting teams in L4 when the Kop gets into a frenzy.

Speaking after Sunday’s thrilling game (via Liverpool Echo), Arteta said of the Merseyside outfit: “When you look back at what they’ve done to big teams, including this season, they’re an exceptional team. They’re very difficult to dominate for 90 minutes.

“They have moments where they shift the game and they create the momentum that they want. When they raise the level to that there are few teams that can keep up. You have some examples in the results this year again. Merit to them as well because they’re a really good team.”

The Arsenal manager also praised the ‘special’ vibe which can be generated at Anfield, saying: “It was a super intense match. We started the game exceptionally well and dominated, scored a goal and continued to play the way we wanted to and scored again, and that was the moment to kill the game.

“Just before half-time we conceded a goal and Liverpool generated some belief. This is a special atmosphere and stadium and the second half was a very different story.”

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Arteta – who showed his class by wearing a 97 badge as a mark of respect towards those who died in the Hillsborough disaster – knows all about the impact Liverpool fans can have on matches at Anfield.

In Arsenal’s previous visit to the venue before yesterday, he got embroiled in a touchline row with Klopp with the teams deadlocked at 0-0 (GOAL), raising the atmosphere among the home support as the Reds eventually won 4-0.

A similar episode played out again this weekend, with the Merseyside faithful riled by a tangle between Granit Xhaka and Trent Alexander-Arnold at a juncture when the Gunners led 2-0 in what was seemingly another significant turning point.

Even Roy Keane saw fit to acknowledge on Sky Sports that Anfield has a special something when the home supporters find their full voice.

It still takes the players in red to come up with the goals to secure big results, but there are surely few more powerful motivating forces in football than the energy provided by Kopites to their Liverpool heroes.

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