'We said what we needed': how the half-time chat kept Arsenal fully in the title race | Arsenal

The celebration police were again lacking for Arsenal and not just because of Mikel Arteta's adrenaline-filled sprint after Leandro Trossard sealed Sunday's victory. 3-1 home win over Liverpool in injury time.

It was Martin Ødegaard's decision to grab the club photographer's camera and take photos in front of a triumphant crowd that caused the red mist to fall on Jamie Carragher, the former Liverpool defender, who was working the match for Sky Sports.

“Just go down the tunnel,” fumed Carragher. “You have won a game, three points, you have been brilliant. Back in the title race, go down the tunnel. “I mean it, honestly.”

Carragher would double his opinion in a social media post. “Enjoy it of course, but enjoy it by being disciplined,” he wrote.

Ødegaard knew what was coming when the overly celebratory question began and he couldn't help the smile on his lips. “I think everyone who loves football, everyone who understands football…knows how much it means to win this game,” he said. Arsenal said the captain. “And if you can't celebrate when you win a game, when can you celebrate?

“We are happy with the victory and we will remain humble. We continue to work hard and prepare for the next one but, of course, you have to be happy when you win.”

Did Ødegaard get any good photos? “To be honest, I don't know, he was a bit blurry!” he replied. “But he (the photographer) is a big Arsenal fan, he has a big heart for the club, he's been here so long… Yeah, I thought it was a good time for him to have a good memory too.”

What made the victory so special, so significant, was the danger surrounding the occasion (a defeat would surely have ended Arsenal's title hopes) and how they recovered from the gut punch of conceding 1-1 in first half injury time.

It's never a good time to let one in, but here it was magnified as Arsenal had dominated up to that point and it was a very ugly goal too. William Saliba got into a terrible mess with his goalkeeper, David Raya, and when Luis Díaz kicked, the ball ended up going into Gabriel Magalhães.

It seemed as if all of Arsenal's hard work had been erased; The home fans were stunned and Arteta spoke of the players being “really shaken” during the interval. He presented them with the acid test of his mentality, particularly when Liverpool started the second half brightly. The visitors were the better team during the first 15 minutes.

Arsenal suffered. However, they held on and turned everything around when Gabriel Martinelli took advantage of a calamitous mix-up between Alisson and Virgil van Dijk to make it 2-1 in the 67th minute. From then on, Arsenal largely kept Liverpool at arm's length. The resilience they showed defines their season.

“The psychology of the team is maturing,” said midfielder Jorginho. “We went to the locker room (at half-time) and talked. We said what we had to say and we didn't lose the energy of the team. It's been a few games since I feel like our team is maturing. Not only when it comes to scoring goals, but also the way we play: understanding the game, when to play short, when to play long, those types of situations.”

Jorginho was asked if Arsenal had the maturity they perhaps lacked last season, when their title bid was derailed in early April. “Could be,” he replied. “When the team plays one more year together, you learn a lot.”

It has been a while since the Emirates rocked like they did on Sunday, with Arteta calling it the “best atmosphere” of the season. Perhaps it was the knowledge that a defeat would have left Arsenal eight points behind Liverpool after 23 games. As it is, there are two behind.

“It could have been eight points and then it would seem much more difficult,” Ødegaard said. “But we showed up and the fans were amazing. We did this together and you can see how together we all are. The fans are crucial to give momentum to the games. “When you have the fans behind you… we get a lot of energy from it.”

Ødegaard noted that Arsenal had returned strongly last season after missing out on Champions League qualification in 2021-22. Now they need to take another step after the disappointing end of the previous campaign.

“We have to show that we have learned something,” Ødegaard said. “We have to talk on the field and show it towards the end of the season; keep doing our thing and then we'll see.”