07 January 2024 , 19:07
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Mikel Arteta's touchline antics have attracted plenty of interest this season, but rarely for the reason they did during Arsenal's FA Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool.
Arteta has been criticised for seeminly straying from his technical area or becoming - in the eyes of some - a bit too animated. On this occasion, though, fans believed the Spaniard's behaviour led to his trousers splitting.
Arsenal created plenty of chances against Liverpool, only for errant or hesitant finishing to leave them unable to find a way past Alisson in the visitors' net. They were punished by two late goals, but the damage to Arteta's clothes may have come a fair deal earlier.
Shortly after the hour mark at the Emirates Stadium, the BBC cameras cut to a grimacing Arteta in the Arsenal dugout. More than a few fans noticed an apparent split in his trousers around the crotch, and delivered their own theories.
"I know it's a trend to have holes in socks, so players' calves can 'breathe'. But what is Arteta's excuse for having a hole in his trousers there?" one fan asked.
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"Arteta so frustrated with them he split his trousers," wrote another. "Never mind a new striker, Arteta needs a new pair of trousers," was the verdict from a third.
Did Arsenal deserve to lose to Liverpool? Have your say in the comments section
Mikel Arteta in the Arsenal dugout (BBC Sport)Arsenal racked up 23 shots to Liverpool's 15, but were wasteful in front of goal with Kai Havertz guilty of more than one missed chance. Liverpool didn't need a second invitation after going ahead through Jakub Kiwior's goal, and secured a 2-0 victory late on when Luis Diaz added gloss to the scoreline.
Liverpool; were without top scorer Mohamed Salah, who has linked up with Egypt's squaf for the Africa Cup of Nations, while captain Virgil van Dijk missed out through illness. Arsenal were missing a few stars themselves, including the injured Gabriel Jesus, but the visitors' stand-in captain Trent Alexander-Arnold hailed the performance after his team prevailed - with the right-back's free-kick, headed past his own keeper by Kiwior - playing a part.
"We've got a lot of players missing today with the lads on internationals and Virg not in the squad," Alexander-Arnold told The BBC. "We dug deep with two late goals. We changed things around at half-time and we came out and played football, created our chances. The change of system made an impact for us."