Mikel Merino has insisted that Arsenal did not set out to be cautious in their 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday. The midfielder said the team’s desire was always to attack but in the face of Liverpool’s threat on transitions, his side found the balance difficult to find.
Mikel Arteta was criticised for his selection, which saw him beef up in the middle with the inclusion of Merino in the No 10 role – Martin Ødegaard was fit enough only to be a substitute – and also start the new signing, Eberechi Eze, on the bench.
The reaction was outcome-based. Had Dominik Szoboszlai not located the top corner with a 30-yard free-kick in the 83rd minute, Arteta would most likely have been praised for engineering a fourth successive Premier League draw at Anfield. However, Szoboszlai produced a masterpiece and Arsenal departed with regrets.
They took in the theory that Liverpool might have been vulnerable against opponents who attacked with gusto. They had conceded twice in each of their previous three matches this season, including the Community Shield against Crystal Palace. The champions are bedding in new signings.
Arsenal did not put it to the test, prioritising control and preventing Liverpool from running at them with the ball. The statistics showed Arteta’s team managed only one shot on target and had no big chances. That said, Liverpool also created precious little and Arteta did introduce Ødegaard and Eze in the 70th minute. The visiting manager wanted to push for the win in the closing stages.
“The mentality is always to go forward, to be attacking, to be aggressive, to try to dominate the game and create chances,” Merino said. “But sometimes the game of football is like this. Sometimes the ball puts you in a certain situation. You have to adapt to it.
“Against teams like Liverpool … they are a big threat running. We knew that. So we wanted to attack and create chances but at the same time they wanted to be low, wait for us to make a mistake and run forward. It’s tricky to try to attack, not make mistakes at the same time, and create chances.”
It was Arsenal’s first loss against a rival from the so-called “Big Six” in 23 matches and their first away defeat in the league in 16. Szoboszlai’s goal was their first they had conceded this season. Merino called for perspective and said he retained faith that Arsenal would challenge for the title, especially given the range of options open to Arteta after £263m was spent on new signings.
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“The mentality on the team is that we can do big things,” Merino said. “We want to take that next step and I think we are ready. Games like Liverpool are hard to digest because the feeling was we deserved better.
“But overall, I’m very excited for this squad; the amount of quality we have, the amount of depth we have now. It’s to create the relationships with the new guys and everyone needs time to adapt. In the future, I think we’re going to be ready.”
