Coach Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to be evaluated over the long term, rather than just looking at recent negative results.
Arsenal held the Premier League lead at Christmas with 40 points, one point ahead of Liverpool and Aston Villa. This is only the second time in history that they have held the top flight of English football at Christmas for two consecutive seasons, the first being in 1932 and 1933. But two consecutive defeats to West Ham and Fulham have seen the Gunners drop to fourth, five points behind leaders Liverpool.
Arteta believes Arsenal did not deserve to lose, but did not play well enough to deserve to win these two matches. The Spanish coach also admitted that two consecutive defeats to West Ham and Fulham affected Arsenal's motivation and hindered their progress. But he wants to look at the bigger picture.
Coach Arteta during Arsenal's 1-2 loss to Fulham at Craven Cottage, London on December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters
"At Christmas, Arsenal were top of the league. Six days later, we were fourth," Arteta said at a press conference on January 5 ahead of the FA Cup third-round tie with Liverpool. "So you can be tempted to look at things through a microscope. But you use a telescope to look a little further, and there are things that have a deeper perspective. My job is to look through a telescope, to have a perspective and analyse things in a broader way, and not be influenced by the performance of one game."
Two weeks ago, Arsenal drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League. The match was played in a noisy atmosphere, after manager Jurgen Klopp urged fans to "give their tickets to someone else" if they were not ready to support their team.
Arteta wants the fans to create a similar atmosphere at the Emirates on January 7. "We are really happy with the atmosphere at the Emirates. But can we adjust it and make it more hostile? I think so," the Spanish coach said. "Arsenal have a long history in the FA Cup, and we have the opportunity to start again and make a beautiful journey."
In addition to the home advantage, the history of the FA Cup matches is in Arsenal's favour ahead of the clash with Liverpool. The two teams have met 17 times in this long-standing competition, and the Gunners have only lost three. Since losing 1-2 in the final at Cardiff in 2001, Arsenal have won all three of their last FA Cup matches against Liverpool. They won 1-0 at Highbury in 2001-2002, 3-1 at Anfield in 2006-2007 and 2-1 at Emirates Stadium in 2013-2014.
Arteta has confirmed Arsenal are unlikely to make any signings in the mid-season transfer window, despite rumours they want to strengthen at left-back and forward. The 41-year-old has said Oleksandr Zinchenko is fit to play, while Thomas Partey will not be travelling with Ghana to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as he has not returned to training.
In midweek, British media reported that Arsenal had complained to the English Refereeing and Match Officials Board (PGMOL) about Bukayo Saka being fouled frequently by opponents and asked for tougher measures. However, Arteta denied this information.
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