Arsenal and Liverpool clash this weekend with the Gunners in desperate need of a victory to reignite their somewhat ailing title bid. The game comes almost 10 years to the day they last met with the stakes so high and both in contention for the Premier League crown. The result? A 5-1 win for Brendan Rodgers’ Reds.
Their collapse at Anfield was one of many over the back end of the Arsene Wenger era when the pressure was on and that trait is something Mikel Arteta is yet to fully remedy in his four-year stint at the Emirates.
Since the last title was won 20 years ago by the Invincibles, Arsenal have been anything but unbeatable in the four or maybe five title races they have fought.
There was William Gallas’ temper tantrum in 2008 after a last gasp 2-2 draw at Birmingham, which led to just one win from the next seven and a five-point lead in February eventually becoming a four-point deficit and a third-placed finish in May.
In fairness, the effect of Eduardo’s horrendous leg break in that game cannot be underestimated and was surely a factor.
Birmingham again were the Gunners’ scourge three years later, defeating them in the 2011 League Cup final in dramatic fashion, continuing Wenger’s seven-year trophy drought. It ultimately led to his brilliantly talented side falling away from title contention, but not before that 4-4 game with Newcastle.
2016 saw the apparent title race turning point of Danny Welbeck’s last-minute winner against Leicester become little more than a footnote in the Foxes’ once-in-a-lifetime fairy-tale almost instantly via Marcus Rashford’s debut double the following weekend.
We don’t need to rehash what happened last season given it is so fresh in the memory and 2022 was hardly much better, with a top-four place being blown in the final hurdles.
But, with Liverpool being the opponents this weekend, let’s go back to where we began in this piece and look back at that fateful February 8 2014 day.
In the aftermath of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, perhaps Wenger had a new lease of life away from the shadow of his greatest rival, and the Gunners arrived at Anfield for the showdown meeting riding high off the back of six wins from their last seven.
A 10-year wait for the title appeared to be nearing a close, as they looked to cement their place at the top of the table and knock Liverpool further out of the running.
That plan lasted all of 55 seconds after Martin Skrtel opened the scoring and was well and truly buried by the 20th-minute mark as the league leaders found themselves 4-0 down.
Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling got in on the act, while the Slovak defender did his best Luis Suarez impression with another strike too. Four became five in the second half as Sterling scored again.
A crumb of consolation for the shellshocked Gunners came from the penalty spot in the 69th minute. The scorer? One Mikel Arteta, then captain of Arsenal.
The effects of the result were as much a contrast as the result itself, with Liverpool winning their next 10 league games before the slip and all that cost them their best chance at a title in 24 years.
Arsenal, on the other hand, won just two of their next eight, losing 6-0 at Chelsea in Wenger’s 1000th game in charge during that dark period, and were fourth when all was said and done.
To make matters worse, it was also around the time Jose Mourinho called the Frenchman a “specialist in failure”.
Ten years on, and the two sides meet again, but this time Liverpool are top of the pile and Arsenal are the ones looking to battle their way back into contention after a testing few months.
Arteta’s side’s confidence should be relatively high, at least on paper, after battering Crystal Palace nearly two weeks ago and grinding out a win at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
The latter saw Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus get much-needed goals, while the former saw Gabriel Martinelli get back on the scoresheet with a late brace.
However, it is less than a month since they last played, when Liverpool performed an FA Cup third-round smash and grab in north London, which surely will be in the minds of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and co. heading into the game.
Will it be a motivator for revenge or something that inhibits them?
Liverpool’s own motivations are evident, with both a 20th league title and a perfect farewell to Jurgen Klopp more than enough to keep them going. They come into the game bang in form, having not missed a beat without Mohamed Salah – their 4-1 win against Chelsea was a serious statement.
With Manchester City ominously moving into position to strike and ahead of Arsenal on goal difference with a game less played, a win this weekend for Arsenal is absolutely mandatory if Arteta is to gatecrash what looks set to be yet another Klopp-Guardiola title duel.
With so much at stake, will they step up like they haven’t so many times before? 5-1 to the Arsenal, anyone?
