Mikel Arteta has been told the only way he can end Arsenal’s long-standing Anfield hoodoo is by setting his side up to be positive. The Gunners have not won a league match at Anfield in over 14 years, last getting the better of the Reds in September 2012.

And former Gunners forward Alan Smith believes a victory at Anfield would be the sort of statement that would further bolster his old side’s credentials as Premier League title favourites. He said: “It would be a big statement, yeah. They lost to that (Dominik) Szoboszlai late free kick, didn't they, last season, which would have hurt.

“So you'd hope that Arsenal could go there and be positive, but they've been accused of being a little bit negative going to Anfield in the past. But yeah, it'd be a big statement win if they could get three points there.”

Make sure you never miss the latest Arsenal news and opinion by making Football London one of your Google preferred sources

Arsenal make the trip back North just a few days after a humbling Carabao Cup penalty shootout loss to League Two Fleetwood Two.

Max Dowman was sent off for a kick out at Harrison Neal five minutes from the time, with Gunners boss Arteta speaking briefly to the teenage star as he left the pitch.

The Spaniard was criticised for his reaction, but Smith, speaking via BestBettingSites.co.uk, believes: “People made a lot of what Arteta said as he walked off.

“I don’t know whether he was giving him a rollicking. He might have just said, 'Get yourself in the shower and get changed quickly’. You don’t know. He wouldn’t have been happy, the manager.”

Speaking on Friday, Arteta defended his reaction, saying: "I haven't seen the reaction to my reaction, whether it is positive or negative.

“But you need to understand the context and the relationship that I have with him and what we discussed just before we went out," Arteta said of his words to Dowman.

"But, I don't know. You can have another reaction. If you see the reaction of my father and my mother with me some days you might say 'I don't like the reaction'. For me, it was the best reaction to be who I am."

The Gunners failed in a bid to get the red card overturned, meaning Dowman will now be suspended for today’s game against Liverpool.

And Arteta added: "And the reaction when I don't win, you want to know what my reaction is? I am [angry] big time.

"So, we need to be ready for that. This is the environment and this is the reality, otherwise we are in Disneyland. We are not in Disneyland, we are in the Premier League and this level. We look after him so much that you cannot imagine.

"But at the same time we are going to demand from him, like everybody else, because he needs to earn the right to play. Because the other boys, what are they going to tell me? You need to be fair."