Arsenal vs Liverpool: Mikel Arteta's side can prove Gunners' 'banter era' is over with victory

Since they last got their hands on the title in 2004, Arsenal have morphed from one of the most dominant and glamorous clubs the Premier League had to offer into one of its most widely ridiculed. 

Over the next three years the north London outfit waved goodbye to their historic crop of Invincibles one by one; Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry et al filtered out and, in turn, so did any realistic hopes of major silverware.

Aside from their appearance in the 2006 Champions League final, a game the majority of their outgoing Invincibles played in, and a handful of FA Cup wins, they have not come close to landing or competing for the big prizes Henry, Vieira and Co had become accustomed to.

Since their last title win in 2004 Arsenal have become one of England's most ridiculed clubs

Their famous Invincibles era was followed by a period of mediocrity under Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger failing to replace his outgoing heroes effectively and moving away from a blueprint of pace, power and aggression in favour of a softer system centred around technical players goes a long way in explaining why. As a result, a place in the top four became Wenger's new barometer of success, as well as a stick for rival fans to poke the Frenchman and Arsenal with.

Instead of catapulting themselves back into title-winning contention, the Gunners spent the final years of Wenger's tumultuous reign scrapping for fourth, missing out on it in 2017 and failing to qualify for the Champions League again ever since.

The club that once had an eye for superstars-in-the-making were now spending their cash on Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner and Sebastien Squillaci. And any world-class talent they managed to acquire and nurture was always snapped up by a superior, trophy-hunting rival in the end.

Timid, brittle performances, no Champions League football, non-existent title hopes and questionable transfers therefore sealed Arsenal's status as a true Premier League banter club. But is that about to change?

It didn't appear so at the start of the season. Mikel Arteta had just stewarded one of the most disastrous campaigns in the club's history in 2020/21, winning a mere 18 games out of 38 and finishing eighth in the Premier League - which saw them miss out on European football altogether.

Rival fans reveled in the Gunners' timid, brittle performances and poor results on the pitch

They also made some questionable signings who failed to live up to their previous heroes

Arsenal's status as a Premier League banter club looked to be continuing under Mikel Arteta

New signings like Ben White came under criticism during an opening run of three defeats

To follow that up, they added a number of obscure signings to Arteta's ranks over the summer; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares cost almost £40million and were not exactly names to whip up a frenzy at the Emirates.

They also forked out close to £80million on unproven English talents in Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale, the former acquisition coming under immense scrutiny during a dismal opening run of three losses in as many Premier League games.

Having also drawn blank in that damning trio of defeats, Arteta's position as manager was hanging by the ropiest of threads, Champions League qualification looked a pipedream and some of the club's most expensive summer signings were drawing criticism. Banter FC was well and truly living up to its tag.

Yet, six months later Arsenal's position and reputation in the English top flight would have scarcely been believable back in August. Arteta's men are currently enjoying a run of five straight wins, their only defeat in 11 matches was a highly controversial one in the dying seconds against champions Manchester City, and as a result they're now in pole position to secure a top-four finish.

Fast forward six months and Arsenal are now in a position that wouldn't have been believable

Arteta has found a formula that works at the Emirates and is now producing consistent results

Slowly but surely the Gunners have found a formula that works; settling on a sturdy back five, which the once-heckled White is at the heart of, a solid midfield pair and a free-roaming, pace-heavy attack.

Ramsdale has been a revelation in goal, making a mockery of those who baulked at his £30million transfer fee and instead emerging as a leader and indispensable for Arteta.

Tomiyasu, too, has become a key member of Arsenal's backline despite arriving in north London as somewhat of an unknown quantity, with Cedric Soares a sufficient understudy. White has improved as the season has gone on and formed a watertight partnership with Gabriel, while Kieran Tierney is a reliable asset at left-back.

In midfield, Thomas Partey has proved an assured anchor sweeping up in front of the defence, and partner Granit Xhaka has always been a valuable player when not acting petulantly.

Arteta also has a host of dynamic, adventurous attacking options at his disposal. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli are seemingly first-choice right now, but with Emile Smith-Rowe and Nicolas Pepe also waiting in the wings an injury or suspension to one of the aforementioned trio would not be a disaster.

Aaron Ramsdale has been a revelation in goal despite initial confusion over his £30m price-tag

White has gone on to form a watertight partnership with Gabriel at the heart of their defence

The Gunners have also been attacking with a newfound adventure in recent outings

All five attacking midfielders and wingers are capable of working in tangent with one another, linking up well with marauding full-backs and Alexandre Lacazette at the pinpoint of the frontline.

While he is still a useful squad player, and his recently impressive performances merely haven't been backed up by a goal return of one in seven, Lacazette is arguably the only player Arteta will be seeking to replace this summer even if he puts pen to paper on a new contract. 

It marks a staggering turnaround for a team who sleepwalked straight into another crisis at the start of the campaign. Now, Arsenal are one point clear in fourth place and have three games-in-hand on their closest competitors.

One of those admittedly comes against title contenders Liverpool at the Emirates on Wednesday night, though in their current red-hot form the Gunners have justifiable reason to quietly fancy their chances of at least taking a point.

Yes, Jurgen Klopp's men ran out 2-0 winners when they met in north London for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final back in January. But the hosts were without Partey and Xhaka for the majority of that outing, and they also spurned some glorious early chances on the night.

Wednesday's clash with Liverpool gives them the chance to show the banter era is now over

If Arteta's men can muster a win over the title hopefuls they will be a force to be reckoned with

They were brilliant against league leaders City, succumbing to defeat in the 93rd minute after contentiously conceding both a penalty and a man on New Year's Day. If they play in the same fashion on Wednesday night, there's every chance they could spring an upset and derail Liverpool's hopes of becoming champions.

The visitors have been in fine form themselves, winning their last eight and failing to lose a game in the New Year. However, Jurgen Klopp is known for implementing a high defensive block, and if Arsenal can time their counters well there will certainly be space for the likes of Saka and Martinelli to exploit on the break.

For the first time in years the Gunners have a settled, assured starting XI, a system that produces consistent results and a genuine expectation of returning to Europe's elite club competition.

Getting the better of Klopp's side this week would signal they are a force to be reckoned with these days and, in the process, the banter era is now over.