‘Look what you’ve done’: Jamie Carragher criticises Arsenal man after moment he’ll ‘regret’ vs Liverpool

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Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports (broadcast on 20/11; 19:17) that he believes Mikel Arteta will regret getting involved in a first-half clash with Jurgen Klopp as Arsenal faced Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

The Reds stormed to a 4-0 win on Merseyside. And the scoreline could have perhaps been a lot more emphatic were it not for the likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel, who proved to the Gunners’ shining lights.

Bizarrely, the first half-hour of the game had hinted that Liverpool may struggle to see off Arsenal. The Gunners had the ball in the net at one stage before the offside flag went up.

However, the game changed shortly before the break. And it appeared to take place after an incident involving Arteta and Klopp.

The Arsenal boss was left furious after Takehiro Tomiyasu clashed with Sadio Mane. He obviously felt that Mane had used an elbow in an aerial duel with the Japan international.

His remonstrations prompted Klopp to get involved. Arteta had to be pulled away and both managers were booked.

‘That’s a mistake’

Arteta may have been hoping that the incident would galvanise his players. In fairness, he may have simply had no ulterior motive other than to criticise Mane. But unfortunately, it appeared to spark Anfield into life.

And shortly after, the Reds went in front.

The second-half was a lot more comfortable for the home side. And as the full-time whistle loomed, Carragher suggested that Arteta may rue losing his cool in hindsight.

“I think he’ll look at that and think that’s a mistake,” he told Sky Sports. “If that was a player on the pitch who did a silly challenge and lifted the crowd of the opposition – we’ve all been in a dressing room where you come in at half-time and say: ‘look what you’ve done, you’ve lifted this crowd’ – and that’s what it did.

“I think he’ll look back at that and think it was something maybe he’ll probably regret.”

Arteta, like Arsenal squad, is still learning and perfecting his trade

It is hard to criticise Arteta too strongly over the incident. He clearly felt that Mane had overstepped the mark. And it was not long after that the Liverpool forward was indeed booked for a nasty challenge on Ben White.

Perhaps he will keep his cool in future. But it is easy to forget that Arteta remains a young manager. Like his Arsenal squad, he is still learning.

Many will love the passion that he showed, particularly as they would have known that Arsenal would always need to be at their best to get a result.