There was something strange, almost silly, about Liverpool’s defeat of Arsenal. If the Emirates Stadium had been packed with fans, the full-time applause would have been accompanied by laughter of delight and disbelief. And then, in a post-match interview, Mikel Arteta suddenly became serious.
Because Arteta knows better than anyone that this victory at Arsenal does not suggest that they are truly capable of keeping up with the Premier League champions. In fact, the very nature of the victory suggests just the opposite: Arsenal’s rearguard action confirmed their status as major losers.
When asked if he would have the necessary financing to finance a necessary reconstruction, Arteta told Sky Sports: “I don’t know.” Is that a concern? “Great concern because you see how those squads build and there is no magic. You need to improve the team with quality players, and we need bigger teams to compete in this competition. And there it is…
.
