Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had a spat with Jurgen Klopp during the game last weekend and speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand had a few comments on what had transpired.
The Spaniard had taken issue with some of the physical play that the hosts were inflicting on the visitors. What sparked the row between was an elbow from Sadio Mane on Takehiro Tomiyasu. The winger was not punished despite showing no attempt to play the ball.
Arteta and Klopp nearly came to blows with each other and had to be separated by the rest of the staff. But the incident seemed to rile up the crowd and Anfield reached a level of vociferousness that has not been seen previously this season. The players seemed energised by the increased passion from the stands and eventually won 4-0.
Speaking on his channel, Ferdinand had the following to say about what the Gunners boss did:
“I watched the game and Liverpool turned the screw, they turned the screw after Arteta, and Klopp’s spat on the touchline that Arteta started. That was naïve for me, at Anfield, you don’t want to gas up that crowd and whip them up.
“You have a go at Klopp when you’re one or two up, not when the game is on a knife-edge, and I think that was a bit of naivety on Arteta’s behalf. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, he’s a young manager and he’ll learn from that.”
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In hindsight, it can be argued that it was wrong for the manager to provoke the home crowd as the game ended in defeat. But on the other hand, you want the boss to be someone who sticks up for his players. And there were a few fouls that should have been punished which weren’t and it eventually led to the row.
Since this is Arteta’s first job as a full-time manager, there is a lot to learn for him and that will happen soon. It would have been tough keeping Liverpool at bay even without a raucous crowd. Arsenal should forget the disappointing defeat and look forward to the upcoming matches.
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