Arsenal ready to compromise under Arteta to get result at Liverpool

Mikel Arteta has admitted he and Arsenal have to compromise on some of their footballing principles to get results against the Premier League’s bigger clubs.

Arsenal visit Anfield on Monday aiming to snap out of a run during which they have conceded 20 goals in their past five visits to Liverpool’s home. They have, in fact, proved a thorn in Liverpool’s side under Arteta. Arsenal defeated the champions 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium in July and followed that with a penalty shootout victory in the Community Shield last month.

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Those wins came with 31% and 41% of possession respectively, owing much to Arteta’s willingness to set up relatively conservatively against top opponents. He said that, while he would have liked Arsenal to play with more control, they must not try to run before they can walk.

“Sometimes it’s what you want to do as a coach and sometimes it’s what you are allowed to do with the levels of players and performances that top teams can do against you,” he said. “[In those games] we obviously had very long periods where we had to defend deeper than we would like to, but we have to prepare for the games finding scenarios to win.