Chris Sutton claims Mikel Arteta will be ‘furious’ with Granit Xhaka after Arsenal’s battling draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
The Gunners looked on course to restore their eight-point lead over Premier League title rivals Manchester City when they scored twice in the opening 28 minutes.
Early goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus stunned Anfield but the hosts responded before half-time through Mohamed Salah before dominating the second half.
It still appeared as though Arsenal would hang on for a vital win as Salah missed a penalty and Aaron Ramsdale denied Darwin Nunez, but Roberto Firmino headed home a late equaliser to earn a share of the spoils.
Anfield was understandably flat as Arsenal dominated the early exchanges but Liverpool found some energy after Xhaka clashed with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The pair squared up after the Arsenal midfielder made a late challenge and Alexander-Arnold responded with a shove.
Former Premier League striker Sutton believes it was a turning point in the match and says Arteta will be ‘furious’ that Xhaka gave Liverpool ‘a reason to stop playing so passively’.
‘Jurgen Klopp used to describe his Liverpool players as “mentality monsters”,’ Sutton told the Daily Mail. ‘But for the first 40 minutes of this match, they were more like “meek mice”.
‘Liverpool were asleep, 2-0 down and doing nothing to encourage any noise from their supporters.
‘Then Granit Xhaka woke them up. Stupidly so. By barging into Trent Alexander-Arnold and then squaring up to him, he riled up the Anfield crowd. Their animosity was infectious and it brought this Liverpool team to life.
‘They were suddenly fuelled by fury and emerged for the second half totally up for it – all thanks to that one moment of misjudgment from Xhaka.
‘Mikel Arteta will be furious about that, I’m sure. It was totally unnecessary from Xhaka to give Liverpool a reason to stop playing so passively.
‘That said, it is worrying for Klopp that it took something like this to get his team going. Should they not be displaying this angry attitude from the start of games?
‘That is a big reason why they are where they are, eighth in the Premier League and at risk of missing out on Europe.
‘The Liverpool that we saw in the second half on Sunday is the one that Klopp has been desperate to see. Why it’s been missing is a mystery. They need to show this mentality from the first whistle.’
Arsenal, who are now six points ahead of Manchester City, return to action next Sunday against West Ham, while Liverpool visit Leeds United.
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