Arteta knows the dread. Playing for Everton in 2011, he used the Spanish word bajar to describe feeling helpless there, comparing it to a cyclist who looks amazing and then suddenly struggles. He said he felt that only once in his career, and it was at Anfield.
He finally won there as an Arsenal player in September 2012 after five failed attempts in the Merseyside derby, then spent the night in hospital with concussion after colliding with Jordan Henderson. He calls it "the biggest fear of my life." Arsenal won again six months later on goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla. They have not won there in the league since.
The record as manager is rough. Arsenal's lone victory since came on penalties in the League Cup in 2020. In November 2021, Arteta played You'll Never Walk Alone over the training ground speakers to prepare his players, and they lost 4-0. After last season's late August loss, critics hit him for starting Mikel Merino as his No 10. Gary Neville said Arsenal lacked the mentality to win big matches at big away grounds.
The cure may sit in 1989, when Arsenal won at Liverpool on a night the club still counts among its greatest, and George Graham is the name pointing Arteta back to it.