Arteta proud of players’ grit against Liverpool

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left proud of the fight his team put up against Liverpool in the first-leg of the League Cup semifinal on Thursday to manage a 0-0 draw at the Anfield.

The Gunners looked set to pay for another moment of madness from former captain Granit Xhaka when he was sent off for chopping down Diogo Jota after just 24 minutes. However, Arteta’s men held out for over an hour a man down to keep Liverpool at bay.

“We revel against the situation. The players showed great fight, determination, brotherhood. You saw the emotion, we never gave up,” said Arteta.

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However, Liverpool badly missed the firepower of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as they laboured to even create chances against the 10 men.

Chelsea already await the winners at Wembley next month after the first leg, originally scheduled to be played at the Emirates last week, was called off due to a coronavirus outbreak among the Liverpool squad.

The Reds were missing Salah and Mane due to their international duties at the Africa Cup of Nations.

However, Liverpool otherwise had a clean bill of health and Jurgen Klopp named the strongest side available to him.

The home side had the better of a cagey opening quarter with Ben White’s miscued clearance from Takumi Minamino’s cross that skewed just wide the closest either side came before the red card.

Xhaka has remained a key player for Arteta despite his disciplinary issues.

But he will miss Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham and the second leg next Thursday after being sent off for the second time this season.

Jota was played through on goal by Andy Robertson’s pinpoint long ball and the Portuguese was brutally brought down by Xhaka’s lunge.

“We would’ve preferred to have scored the goal instead of them getting a red card,” said Klopp. “From that moment it looks like we are under pressure.

“But it’s a two-legged game and it’s halftime. I can’t remember when it was 0-0 at halftime, wherever I’ve been, and I thought ‘we have no chance’. We will give it a proper go.”

Arteta responded to the red card by sacrificing Eddie Nketiah for an extra centre-back in Rob Holding and the visitors’ back five held up well despite Liverpool dominating possession.

“I don’t know if the red card inspired them but it took the fight,” added Arteta.

“You need a certain attitude to play in these games and the boys did that.”

Minamino had the two clear chances Liverpool did create in the second half.

Firstly, the Japanese dragged his shot wide from a narrow angle.

Moments later a rare Arsenal foray forward nearly resulted in the winner as Kieran Tierney picked out Bukayo Saka, but he could not beat Alisson Becker from close range.

There was further concern for Arteta when Saka limped off in the final stages.

And all his side’s good work was nearly undone at the death as Aaron Ramsdale flapped at a cross, but Minamino sliced high and wide with the goal gaping to leave it all to play for in the second leg at the Emirates on January 20.

Pioli takes blame for hard-fought win

AC Milan, who sit second in Serie A behind city rivals Inter, came from behind to beat Genoa 3-1 after extra time at the San Siro.

Genoa led for almost an hour after Leo Ostigard’s 17th-minute opener, but Olivier Giroud struck 16 minutes from time to draw the home side level.

Rafael Leao, with a mishit cross which flew straight in, and Alexis Saelemaekers both found the net in the extra half-hour as Stefano Pioli’s Milan set up a quarter-final against either Lazio or Udinese.

However, Milan’s coach Stefano Pioli was not impressed with his team’s performance and he also took the blame as they needed extra time to beat Genoa.

“Obviously, I didn’t do a great job because we didn’t approach the game well,” he stated. “If you don’t enter the pitch with the necessary attention, there are mistakes. It’s my fault.”

He mentioned that in the first half there was too little energy and they started too inattentive. Though they managed to pull off a hard-fought win, he believes they have to work better.

Fiorentina get better of nine-men Napoli

Fiorentina saw off nine-man Napoli 5-2 in extra time on Thursday to reach the Italian Cup quarter-finals. It is the eighth time in 10 seasons that Fiorentina have made the Cup quarters.

Dusan Vlahovic, who has been heavily linked with a move away from Florence, put the visitors ahead with his 19th goal of the season four minutes before half-time, as the game burst into life.

Napoli winger Dries Mertens levelled just three minutes later before Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski was sent off for a cynical block on Elif Elmas as the Macedonian looked to take advantage of a defensive mix-up.

But the 10 men restored their lead in the 58th minute as Italy left-back Cristiano Biraghi pounced on a rebound inside the box to score.

Napoli also had a man dismissed, as substitute Hirving Lozano was shown a straight red card after a VAR review.

The hosts’ tempers boiled over further in stoppage time, with another sub, Fabian Ruiz, given his marching orders for a second booking.

But just seconds later, Napoli’s Andrea Petagna slotted in a remarkable equaliser to force extra time.

Fiorentina made their man advantage count, though, as Lorenzo Venuti and Krzysztof Piatek netted either side of half-time in extra time.

Moroccan Youssef Maleh added a fifth as his side eased into a last-eight clash with Atalanta, who beat Venezia 2-0 on Wednesday.

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