Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas said a furious half-time outburst from Gunners manager Arsene Wenger inspired them to come from behind and beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Premier League last night.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas said a furious half-time outburst from Gunners manager Arsene Wenger inspired them to come from behind and beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Premier League last night.
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Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin celebrates scoring against Liverpool at Anfield last night |
Hosts Liverpool were leading at Anfield mid-way through the tie when Dirk Kuyt's goal four minutes before half-time gave them the lead.
But the north Londoners hit back after the break thanks to a Glen Johnson own goal before Andrey Arshavin's sublime strike just short of the hour sealed a victory that saw Arsenal regain third spot and move to within three points of second-placed champions Manchester United with a game in hand.
On a day when Liverpool were celebrating the 50th anniversary of legendary manager Bill Shankly's arrival at Anfield, Fabregas said he'd never seen Wenger as angry as the Frenchman was at the interval.
"The boss screamed. I've never seen him like that," Fabregas told Sky Sports.
"He was really disappointed in the first half and said we didn't deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt if we played like that. And I think he was right. In the second half we turned it round," the Spain international added.
Wenger revealed he had been angry at half-time but refused to say precisely what he had told his players.
"I don't like to talk about that. I'll keep that in the dressing room," Wenger said.
"They knew it was absolutely needed to win and when you lose the fifty-fifties in big games you don't win.
"It was just to make them conscious (that) the commitment of Liverpool was bigger. In the first half, we were quite happy with 1-0. It could have been two and the game could have been over."
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said: "The own goal changed everything and we started to make mistakes."
