Artetas cloak of caution ends in more Anfield misery for Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could not change Arsenals recent miserable record as they lost to Liverpool again

Arsenal flagged up the early heavyweight confrontation with Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield with the social media message: "Make a statement."

The game was billed as a meeting between the club that wears the crown and the pretenders whose recent attempts to win the title have ended in the bitter disappointment of falling short.

After Dominik Szoboszlais brilliant 83rd-minute free-kick gave Liverpool victory, it is tough to escape the suspicion that the cloak of caution Arteta draped over Arsenal makes this a significant missed opportunity to secure a landmark - albeit very rare - Anfield victory.

Arsenal, on this ultra-conservative evidence, failed to read the pre-match memo.

No-one expects manager Arteta to order his players to throw the kitchen sink at Liverpool in their Anfield fortress, but this was a Gunners display that seemed designed to get a point but ended with nothing.

Arteta has been handed the weapons to cure that shortfall as the biggest net spenders of the transfer window so far, with deals totalling £248m.

Chief among them was, finally, the acquisition of a recognised striker in Viktor Gyokeres - signed from Portuguese giants Sporting for £64m - then, most eye-catching of all, the coup that saw Arsenal snatch Eberechi Eze away from Tottenham Hotspur in a £60m move from Crystal Palace.

The pressure is on Arteta to finally end a barren era of five years without a trophy after that backing - and this means the big prizes of the Premier League or Champions League.

Arsenal ended up losing a dour, largely colourless, encounter - two teams showing each other huge respect until Szoboszlai curved a magnificent direct free-kick past David Raya from 30 yards.

They rarely troubled a Liverpool defence that has looked vulnerable even in victory in their first two league games against Bournemouth and Newcastle United.

Arsenals new £64m striker Viktor Gyokeres was frustrated in the defeat by Liverpool at Anfield

In the end, it was Liverpool who made the big early title statement against Arsenal, the side expected to be their closest challengers, by making it a maximum nine from nine without reaching anywhere near the standards that saw them stroll to the Premier League last season.

Arsenal could not shift the storyline of misery that accompanies them in Liverpool as the hosts struck an early psychological blow.

The Gunners are winless in their past 13 Premier League games at Anfield, losing eight and drawing five, since a 2-0 win in September 2012. And that 2012 win is also their only clean sheet in their past 27 league visits to Anfield.

Arteta will understandably offer the mitigating circumstances of the injury that cost him Bukayo Saka, the shoulder injury that restricted captain Martin Odegaard to the bench, and the problem sustained by key defender William Saliba that saw him leave the action after only five minutes.

It is, of course, a nonsense to suggest the third Premier League game of the season is any sort of defining moment, but it is reasonable to say an Arsenal win would have underpinned all their aspirations this season and sent a surge of self-belief through Artetas team.

Liverpools Dominik Szoboszlai settled a tight encounter against Arsenal with a brilliant late free-kick

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Mikel Arteta reacts

Arsenal replaced Odegaard with Mikel Merino in the number 10 position while Eze was surprisingly kept back until the final 20 minutes, when he showed in flashes what he will offer in the future - as well as what he might have offered had he been introduced earlier, or even from the start.

Merino was the safe, experienced option.

The Gunners simply have to find a way to bridge the gap that has been beyond them in recent years, and the manner in which they lost late on here - for all the solidity and organisation they showed - may give Arteta pause for thought that it could need a bolder approach to stop Liverpool retaining their title.

Arteta said: "It was going to be decided by an individual error or a moment of magic. You cannot dominate here for 90 minutes, it is impossible. At the end of the game, I said we have to find a way to win these big matches.

"You have to put the ball in the back of the net when you have it. We were much better than last year, much better. We have to put the ball in the back of the net if you want to win the game."

He added: "You have to take a lot of positives from the game. I havent seen Liverpool at home suffering like they did against us."

Liverpool were not at their best, struggling for fluency and frustrated, but "suffering" is certainly a glass-half-full exaggeration of proceedings from the beaten Arsenal manager.

Arsenal only had the shackles released when they went behind, too late to make a difference against a Liverpool rearguard that performed with the most resistance it has mustered this season.

Artetas side were too passive for too long, new striker Gyokeres starved of service but was brushed aside by Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate when he did get possession.

Arsenal did not play badly, but they played within themselves against a Liverpool team that has offered encouragement this season to those teams willing to take the fight to them.

Early days, but Liverpool already have an ominous look - and advantage.

When Arsenal enjoyed that last win at Anfield back in 2012, Arteta was playing.

He was not able to change the narrative prowling his technical area. The wait goes on.