'Really upset' Arteta's fury sparks Arsenal comeback

After the mockery came the comeback. After the outlandish praise came the cutting criticism.

- RICHARD JOLLY AT ANFIELD

After the boos for one of Liverpool’s finest players in recent years came the Arsenal equaliser. An afternoon that threatened to be a hubristic embarrassment for Mikel Arteta instead produced a response which nudged Arsenal towards a place in next season’s Champions League. And yet he has rarely been more scathing, more obviously annoyed. A manager who left Paris with bullish bravado departed Liverpool lacerating his side.

While some in the Anfield crowd turned on Trent AlexanderArnold, Arteta turned on his own players. “What we did in the first half is nowhere near the level so to do it after that is not acceptable,” he said. “Especially the defending standards and the errors after we gave the ball away, which is totally prohibited against this team. We were very far off it. Yeah, we had a reaction, but I hate reaction, I like action. What I saw in the first 25 minutes or 30 minutes, I was killing myself.” An apology followed – “sorry for the words I use” – but, it transpired, the most painful element for Arteta was not the taunts from the Liverpool public.

When Arsenal trailed after two goals in two minutes, the Kop latched on to Arteta’s already infamous assertion that Arsenal were the outstanding side in the Champions League. “Best team in Europe, you’re having a laugh,” came the chorus.