Arsène Wenger says he will be forever haunted by the 5-1 defeat that Arsenal suffered at Liverpool in the Premier League last season. The London club were two points clear at the top of the table when they travelled to Anfield in early February but the thumping defeat, in which they trailed 4-0 after 20 minutes, highlighted a flaw that would undermine their title challenge.
They recovered to beat Liverpool in the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium the following weekend but they went on to suffer damaging away defeats in the league at Chelsea and Everton to finish off the pace.
Wenger, though, was in bullish mood prior to Sunday’s visit to Anfield, with Arsenal on a run of five wins in six matches in all competitions and he hoped to strike a telling blow in the battle for the Champions League places. Arsenal, in sixth position, are five points ahead of Liverpool, who sit 11th.
“Every defeat hurts, every defeat is a scar in your heart forever,” Wenger said, when asked about the 5-1 at Anfield. “But we also have very good memories at Liverpool. We won many games there as well. And even last year, we lost against them and the week later against the same team, we won 2-0 at home in the FA Cup.
“We’ve won five of our last six games and we want to continue our strong run. We had a good game against Newcastle [in the 4-1 home win last Saturday] and Liverpool is a good game for us to show that we can have the continuity in finding a good balance between attacking well and defending well, because Liverpool are always very strong at home. We want to continue to be faithful to our philosophy, to play our game but also be solid defensively.
“I think Arsenal versus Liverpool is one of the great Premier League fixtures and I have a lot of respect for the crowd at Liverpool because they stand behind their team. I remember one day we were leading 5-1 at Liverpool and they were chanting: ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ It’s one of the few grounds in the world where you can see that. There’s a special combination of knowledge of the game at Liverpool and support of their team. I have a huge respect for that.”
Wenger will give late fitness tests to Nacho Monreal (ankle), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (groin) and Theo Walcott (groin). Walcott injured the muscle in training prior to the Manchester United game on 22 November and Wenger said that he had completed only one session with the squad since his return. “It’s very early for him,” Wenger added.
