Mikel Arteta remained coy on whether his side were now favourites to progress to the Carabao Cup final after Arsenal’s nil nil draw with Liverpool.
Speaking to media in his post-match press conference following his sides heroic draw with Liverpool at Anfield despite being down to 10 men for most of the game, Arsenal boss Arteta refused to be drawn into commenting on whether the result now made Arsenal favourites to progress to the final.
Granit Xhaka’s early red card looked set to be enough to tip the balance in favour of the hosts, who already had the backing of the Anfield crowd and a near full roster of fit players excluding those who had ventured to the African Cup of Nations.
However, some stoic Arsenal defending left Liverpool unable to pick the lock with any frequency and effectively shut them out for the full duration of the game, other than one moment when Takumi Minamino had the goal gaping at his mercy with no goalkeeper in sight, only for him to spoon his shot over the bar.
Arteta proclaimed that the fans backing in the next game would be huge if they were to progress into the final.
Arsenal will now go into the second leg on January 20th with the advantage of playing at home and should hopefully have more of a squad to work with as players return from injury and new players are signed as the January window progresses.
You can watch the full video of Arteta’s press conference below.