Although neither Arsenal nor Liverpool would have chosen to play each other in the FA Cup third round, Mikel Arteta, the manager of the north London team, is hoping that the “incredible clash” heralds the beginning of another successful run in the competition.
In his inaugural season with Arsenal in 2019–20, Arteta lifted the FA Cup, adding to the club’s record of 14 titles, after defeating Manchester City and Chelsea. Eight times, Liverpool has won the cup.
Following their exciting 1-1 draw at Anfield just before Christmas, the Spaniard stated on Friday that he anticipates another fascinating encounter against the Premier League leaders.
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“We have a great history in this competition with our two clubs.
” We have a big opponent to start with and again make another beautiful journey,” Arteta told reporters.
“The draw is the draw. We played two weeks ago in the league (1-1 at Anfield).
“It was an incredible match and I am sure it will be again.
“We don’t have a choice (on the draw). I am sure both teams would have been expecting or hoping for something different, but we have this incredible clash in the third round and we have to cope with it.
“We expect a great game and a good run.”
Despite being unbeaten at Christmas, Arsenal has slumped to fourth place in the standings. Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Odegaard have all failed to score goals.
Saka finished with 14 goals and 11 assists in the league last season, while Martinelli and Odegaard led the team in scoring with 15.
Though the three have scored a total of 12 goals so far this season, the goals have dried up.
“What they did last year is exceptional. To maintain those numbers, we knew it would be hard because it was a one off.
“Not just for us, but a one off in the league,” Arteta said.
“I think overall execution is in every part of the field.
“When it comes to those spaces and the timing of the action it becomes trickier to coach and replicate.
“It’s very tricky but it’s something that we have to improve with how we transfer those chances into goals.”
The Arsenal team is thin due to injuries and players away on international duty, particularly at full back where Oleksandr Zinchenko will be assessed on Saturday and Takehiro Tomiyasu is away at the Asian Cup.
Arteta did concede, though, that Arsenal might decide not to bring in any new players this month.
“We are open to the transfer market but the emphasis is on making the most of what we have. We’ll work with the club to see if we have any options,” Arteta said.