Why Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool is more than just ‘a big game’ | OneFootball

It was a belief that some at Arsenal knew not to say in public, but they couldn’t help asserting in private. There were still hints of it when Mikel Arteta spoke about how he felt his side were superior in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain.

Many at Arsenal felt they were better than Liverpool last season, and that it was only circumstances like injuries – and some element of luck – that stopped them proving that.

Liverpool might duly say that there’s a simple way to actually prove you are better and that is to do what they did and win the title. What’s more, injury gluts these days aren’t often down to luck.

Arteta has himself responded to last season’s issues by going out and building the most robust squad in Europe. He wants to make sure.

Liverpool now have a chance to introduce new doubt, while restoring some confidence of their own.

It is all why Thursday’s meeting is more than just a game between big sides – to say nothing of tension between the coaching staff – especially as Arsenal aim to really put the hammer down in this title race.

The uncertainty around Liverpool only sharpens that edge. Arne Slot has more than “a point to prove”, to use the phrase put to Arteta on Wednesday. It is like the Dutchman has to prove himself anew, despite being a title winner. He has to show he can take on that next stage - at least to some of the fanbase, if not the club hierarchy.

Arteta studiously avoided using those words in relation to Liverpool, as he insisted the only “point” is to maintain the team’s “excellent” level.

And for all that the champions obviously represent a benchmark that many at Arsenal would relish beating, their manager rightly touched on something bigger.

In many ways, Liverpool’s arrival only emphasises that Arsenal’s main opposition aren’t who they are playing in any given game, or even a flailing Manchester City. It is themselves. They now just have to overcome their own angst about sealing this title.

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Title favourites face defending champions on Thursday (Getty)

If some around the club might now be sick of hearing this, the hard truth is that it’s a burden every challenger has to face until they actually win a major trophy. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were the same before 2019. Until you do it, there’s that doubt.

It is why there has often been a transformation in teams once they claim that trophy. You only have to look as far as the man who knows more about this than anyone, and the difference between the 1992-93 Manchester United and that of 1993-94.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography acknowledged they felt “under strain” in the 1992-93 race, especially as any setback naturally brought back memories of the “deep depression” they endured in the 1991-92 run-in. The United great even mentioned the palpable “misery” of the supporters as they feared another title challenge “disintegration”. And yet, a mere year later, Ferguson was enthusing about “a new authority” among his players that came from being “liberated from the pressures that a quarter of a century without a title had imposed”.

Much of that will sound familiar, even if it’s 22 years for Arsenal, and despite other evolutions in the game over that time. Some fundamentals don’t change. Actual success gives substance to what you otherwise feel. It brings completion, in the most real sense. Lifting the trophy elevates the team.

It is obviously different if you suddenly surge to a title, as Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal did in 1997-98. There’s no time for angst. Arteta’s team might have been in that category had they won in 2022-23. Some insiders still feel they could have done it had William Saliba not got injured in the Europa League against Sporting Lisbon.

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Dominik Szoboszlai was the match-winner against Arsenal in August (PA Wire)

It still wasn’t the same as now, where they have three years of second places. That can deepen doubt, even at the same time that so many reasons for confidence build up.

Because, unlike much of the last three years, there are now things you can say about Arsenal that are beyond doubt. They are in a more commanding position at the top of the Premier League. They are top of the Champions League. Most analytical models back them up as the best side in England, and around that in Europe. Those three previous second places have also served to mature the side, especially in terms of sheer physicality. This Liverpool, with some of their bigger players out, look comparatively waif-like.

When asked about Arsenal’s strengths, Slot said “they have so many!”

Consequently, Arteta’s players know they should follow through. Whether they do will this time almost certainly come down to themselves, rather than an erratic City’s financial superiority, or injuries, or any other factors.

They know they’re close, but that can only serve to shred nerves, too. You can sense it in home games. If Arsenal aren’t quickly ahead, a nervous energy transmits from the stands.

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Arsenal have to beat their own self-doubt as well as Liverpool (Getty Images)

There are some parallels with the Spanish national team from 2012 to 2022, in how their tournament fixtures would regularly develop into psychodramas. While that was largely because of the awareness their extreme tactical identity would bring extreme defensive responses from opposition, it was intensified by the institutional memory of failure.

This all seemed so pronounced in Arsenal’s game against Wolves, which is perhaps why the late winner might well end up a turning point in the season. The vintage ebb and flow of a title race, and the way the gap extends and contracts, has seemed all the more pervasive because of that. Since so many people believe Arsenal are dwelling on every detail of this, there’s a sense they always need to stay more than three points ahead.

It’s where City’s own title experience - despite this being a largely new team - almost has a tangible weight; the classic Tiger Woods coming down the back nine. And yet those at Arsenal would stridently point out how, despite perceptions, they are in a better position now than when City cut the gap in November.

The squad are similarly trying to foster a sense of getting on with business after every big win. This partly explains Arteta’s psychological ploys - or “gimmicks” - as he tries to shape a tunnel vision.

As much as playing themselves, though, another issue is Arteta playing the same players too much. Even insiders who adore the Basque can’t help rolling their eyes when he insists on a star that doesn’t need to be used in a certain game. It’s all the more frustrating since the point of the big squad was to avoid this.

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Slot and Liverpool meanwhile could do with an injection of confidence (PA Wire)

While Arsenal do have two - even three - players for every position, there are some areas where the usual relationships are essential. One is obviously Saliba and Gabriel. Another is that between Martin Zubimendi and the irreplaceable Declan Rice. Hence an even greater need to keep them fresh.

This month, which is the most intense of the season in terms of fixture congestion, offers a different test there.

On Thursday, at least, the current champions will try to set a test of their own. Arsenal would love to beat them, but primarily so they can banish all remaining angst.