Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has dismissed Pep Lijnders' claim that Liverpool's chances of reaching Wembley were 'written off' following Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield.
The two teams played out a goalless draw on Merseyside, in a match that saw Liverpool struggle in front of goal without prolific forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Arteta's side faced issues of their own heading into the game, however, and were also forced to adjust their starting XI accordingly.
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Looking ahead to tomorrow's return leg in Wednesday's press conference, Lijnders has admitted he is relishing the prospect of proving a point to those who played down the Reds' chance of progression after their Anfield display.
"I really looked forward to this game [second leg] from the final whistle at Anfield because everyone was writing us off and speaking about us," he said.
Challenged on his view to this quote, Arteta today responded: "I would love to feel that way.
"It’s a game to play, it’s just half-time. There is another very competitive match to be played and as I said before we will play to be in that final.
"We’re going to pick the strongest team we have for tomorrow night with one intention – to turn up there and after the final whistle be at Wembley and in the final.
"We will have the players that we have. Whether we play 90, 120 minutes or penalties we’ll do so only with players that have the belief that we can win that game and play the importance of that game. That’s it."
Tomorrow's fixture against the Gunners is expected to go ahead as planned, despite fears earlier this week that the London side may require a second fixture postponement in the space of a week.
Arsenal's derby with Tottenham Hotspur was called off at the weekend due to a lack of available personnel, but the situation is understood to have eased somewhat ahead of the visit of Liverpool.
Asked if the backlash his team have faced following their decision to deem Sunday's game unplayable is a sign that Arsenal are considered a threat once again in the eyes of rival fans, Arteta said: "I don’t know.
"I think more than hate there is a lot of respect for Arsenal and that comes from the history of the club, how it’s always acted, how it’s always behaved and how it’s always conducted itself in many different moments, in high moments and in low moments.
"We need to keep doing that. We know we did the right thing. We worked together with the Premier League and the FA to make that decision and to explain the reasons why. I think, if anything, we’ve been very honest at least.
"We will defend our club with teeth and nails. We’re not going to get anybody damaging our name or trying to lie about things that haven’t occurred. When we make mistakes we’ll put our hands up, but we will defend our club in a really strong way."
