Arsene Wenger says Arsenal’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season is one of the results that will hurt him for the rest of his life.
Arsenal have had some appalling defeats under Arsene Wenger. 8-2 to Manchester United, 6-0 to Chelsea, and 5-1 to Liverpool all rank up there, but the club’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in September is also a good contender.
With the two sides meeting for the first time since that day on Friday night, Wenger has reflected on the game, and discussed what Arsenal can do to put things right.
“Well, when you have such a long career as I have, you have some defeats unfortunately that hurt you for the rest of your life,” he said, as reported by the Evening Standard.
“I believe what is interesting in football is you always have a time to make up for it. When you can put things right, do it. So, let’s focus on what is in front of us and turn up on Friday night with a completely different performance.
“I don’t worry about the motivation. The motivation is there. This squad has a good mentality and it is about us, to make sure we are on top of our game. We must play with pace and a determined attitude.”
It shouldn’t be difficult for the team to play with more pace and determination than they did at Anfield. A good percentage of that team were clearly unprepared. The end of the transfer window proved to be a significant distraction for most of them.
With any luck, that won’t be the case this time around. Arsenal have stuttered through December and have found deep, defensive sides tough going. Both Southampton and West Ham frustrated the Gunners into draws.
Perhaps the more offensive minded Liverpool will give Arsenal more opportunities to score. Wenger’s side will have to be wary of the so-called “Fab Four” – the four Liverpool attackers who have been making mincemeat out of defences recently, however.
Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane have all scored against Arsenal previously. The strength of their attack has lead to suggestions that Wenger could revert to a back three. The Arsenal manager said he will assess his options before making a decision.
“I believe that Liverpool is very good going forward so you need overall a good defensive performance. I have to analyse that well and you have to guess a little bit who will play. It is not always the same – it depends on their personnel. They have plenty of offensive players and looking at them recently, they have changed a lot their teams so it is difficult to guess.
“The fact we are adaptable to both systems means it will be down to me to make the decision. Do we play in a four or a three or a five? I have some more time to think about that.”
Arsenal welcome back Shkodran Mustafi from injury, but have lost Olivier Giroud. There are also question marks over who will start at left-back. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was rested on Wednesday, having played the last two league games, but Wenger does have Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal as options.