Mikel Arteta reveals how Arsenal can hope to match Liverpool’s level before the Anfield showdown

Mikel Arteta says his Arsenal players must match Liverpool’s pace of work and commitment every day of the season if they are to fight their way to contention at the top of the table once again.

The Arsenal manager has faced the champions twice in his short time in North London, coming out victorious both times.

However, on Monday, Arteta leads the Gunners to Anfield in search of a first victory in the red half of Merseyside since 2012, when he was pulling the strings in midfield.

If the Spaniard is to orchestrate an end to that terrible record and work towards his goal of closing the gap with Liverpool and his former employers Manchester City, he knows the Gunners must be relentless in their efforts to match the top two.

“That is a different level,” Arteta said. “They have done it in the Premier League and also in the Champions League. And that is why they raised the bar so much.

“Not only them, Man City also in recent years. That is the level and you have to be able to compete at that level because this is our context and this is our reality.

“If we want to be one of those teams, those basic things have to be implemented every day. That happens in training, you can’t expect them to do it on weekends and train in a different way. That’s the way you behave. every day.

“I don’t know if in the history of football someone has closed a gap of 43 points if they maintain the same level in just a few months. Obviously what you hope to do is be much better and more consistent and then they can lower the level a little, and then the gap is not that great.

“But we can control what we can control, which is our performances and our level of consistency. Obviously, we will do everything we can to try to be much better than last year.”

The Gunners have an appalling record away from the traditional top six by not having won in any of their last 25 trips, dating back to 2015.

Many teams head to Anfield already beaten, such is the aura surrounding Jurgen Klopp’s team, something for which Arteta gives the German great credit.

“I don’t see any complacency,” Arteta said. “They go to any terrain, even when they are 2-0 up, 3-0 up, 4-0 up, and they still go the same way. This is an incredible credit to the technical team, the culture that they have created and the spirit of that team.

“You can see that in the 24 or 26 players they have on the squad.

“There is not a player who plays half the day, who is not very interested or only plays at times in the game. He just tries, every minute of every game. Throughout the season, doing that for 10 months, I think. which is a great compliment. “