Mikel Arteta will remember Liverpool 5 Arsenal 1 collapse from ‘specialists in failure’

Arsenal and Liverpool clash this weekend with the Gunners in desperate need of a victory to reignite their somewhat ailing title bid. The game comes almost 10 years to the day they last met with the stakes so high and both in contention for the Premier League crown. The result? A 5-1 win for Brendan Rodgers’ Reds.

Their collapse at Anfield was one of many over the back end of the Arsene Wenger era when the pressure was on and that trait is something Mikel Arteta is yet to fully remedy in his four-year stint at the Emirates.

Since the last title was won 20 years ago by the Invincibles, Arsenal have been anything but unbeatable in the four or maybe five title races they have fought.

There was William Gallas’ temper tantrum in 2008 after a last gasp 2-2 draw at Birmingham, which led to just one win from the next seven and a five-point lead in February eventually becoming a four-point deficit and a third-placed finish in May.

In fairness, the effect of Eduardo’s horrendous leg break in that game cannot be underestimated and was surely a factor.

Birmingham again were the Gunners’ scourge three years later, defeating them in the 2011 League Cup final in dramatic fashion, continuing Wenger’s seven-year trophy drought. It ultimately led to his brilliantly talented side falling away from title contention, but not before that 4-4 game with Newcastle.