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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Mikel Arteta vows no repeat of Jurgen Klopp spat as Arsenal look to end long Anfield hoodoo

Mikel Arteta insists he will not get involved in any touchline spats with Jurgen Klopp when Arsenal meet Liverpool at Anfield.

The Gunners currently sit top of the Premier League table and one point clear of the Reds ahead of Saturday's pre-Christmas cracker on Merseyside.

Arsenal have not won at Anfield in the League since 2012, when Arteta was still playing, and they have struggled to perform there over the years.

Tempers flared at the famous old stadium two seasons ago, when Arteta and Klopp had a heated exchange on the touchline.

The incident ignited the Anfield crowd and similar happened last season when Granit Xhaka and Trent Alexander-Arnold squared up to each other on the pitch.

And asked if he will avoid any trouble with Klopp on Saturday, Arteta said: “There won’t be any.”

Arteta also believes that playing at Anfield can be compared to only a few other experiences in English football.

Tempers flaring: Mikel Arteta clashed with Jurgen Klopp when Arsenal lost to Liverpool at Anfield in 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

“It is different, different like Old Trafford,” he said. “Old Trafford has a beautiful atmosphere as well and something that historically is an unbelievable place to go. 

“There are a few in this country. The Emirates is one of them as well. A lot of people talk about coming to the Emirates — I don’t think they enjoy it so much. 

“That is the beauty of it. You have to go to these stadiums and you have to prove as a team what you are capable of doing in that context. 

“I think I explained that sometimes when you don’t feel at your best and you feel that they are on top of you, and you cannot get out of that washing machine.

"You try to overcome those situations but that’s learning — it happened once and it didn’t happen again. 

“The game plan and everything that we discussed to try to be away from that game, and put on our washing machine that is very powerful.”

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