Mikel Arteta Identifies Crucial Element Absent in Arsenal's Draw Against Liverpool

Mikel Arteta claimed his Arsenal side lacked 'courage' after slipping from a winning position to draw with Premier League title rivals Liverpool on Sunday.

The Gunners twice took the lead against the Reds, with Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino striking either side of Virgil van Dijk's headed equaliser, but Mohamed Salah saved the visitors with an 81st-minute effort to ensure the points were shared.

While Arsenal welcomed back Saka and Jurrien Timber from injury, they were still without the suspended William Saliba alongside Riccardo Calafiori, who took a knock during the Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Gabriel Magalhaes then had to be substituted early in the second half as Jakub Kiwior came off the bench, while 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly played in the final 15 minutes when Salah struck.

Speaking after the game, Arteta told Sky Sports: 'Very proud of the team. The courage, quality, domination in the game we wanted to play especially in the first half. Should've been a bigger score in first half, they came out in second half and we didn't have courage.

'We deserved to win the game. We were the better team. Learnings from both goals, second one is a transition moment we have to end up in final third. You can not give that away.'

'We were clear in what we had to do and the execution, determination and aggression with and without the ball was really good. A few moments where we should've put the ball in the net.

'In the first phase we needed more courage to play. We created big opportunities.'

The draw leaves Arsenal third at the top of the Premier League, five points off leaders Manchester City and four behind Liverpool.

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