Henry Waddon analyses Arsenal's support as the Gunners are top of the Premier League table for Christmas Day after their hard-fought 1-1 draw at Anfield. 

With such relentless, intense - and dare I say it, disgraceful - scrutiny being constantly shone on our Mikel, it’s always nice to see Klopp and Guardiola feeling a little bit rattled.

And in recent weeks, we’ve seen both of these storied managers using their respective press conferences to beg home fans to get behind the eleven, and play a part in bringing their team to victory.

Ahead of their clash against the Gooners this weekend, Jurgen Klopp said the Anfield crowd would need to be ‘on their toes’ if Liverpool were going to produce the echelon of performance required to get a result against the league leaders.

In doing so, he evoked an age-old dilemma; is it the fans’ responsibility to energise the team, or do the players need to earn the supporters’ vim and noise by putting on a show for them?

The truth, of course, is that it’s a symbiotic deal. When players and fans alike are singing from the same hymn sheet, great results and huge nights seem to come all the more easily.

So much is always made of the famous Anfield atmosphere, and The Kop’s apparent ability to suck the ball into the net. Arsenal-smearer-in-chief Gary Neville went to great lengths to illustrate this point in last season’s fixture, when Arsenal were accused of ‘waking up’ the Anfield crowd with hot-headed behaviours and remonstrations.

Once again, on Saturday evening, the Liverpool faithful seemed to present an additional challenge for Arsenal - even if they needed their manager’s specific request to do so.

A further hurdle in what was already billed as a tough and consequential fixture for the sake of our title ambitions. The vigour and tumult at every tackle and corner and aerial win at Anfield seemingly has the weird ability to induce a high-paced chaos. The kind of chaos that leads to five Reds tearing through on-goal against a single, defiant Declan Rice. And the kind of chaotic environment that makes it very tricky to get an away result there.

In years gone by, this kind of culture and atmosphere would have induced a jealousy in me.

It wasn’t long ago that the Arsenal fanbase felt uniquely prone to self-detestation and critique. But that just isn’t us anymore.

Mikel Arteta has changed so many things about our club for the better.

Yes, his reset has seen us play a better brand of football than we have in so long. Yes, it’s seen us bring in young, hungry, obscenely-talented players. But also, with the help of Ashburton, Louis Dunford, Wrighty and the like, it’s seen us become an enviable culture, too. The word ‘Aura’ comes to mind.

It summons visions of Martin Odegaard baying the Emirates into applause with that blood-stirring arm-waving he’s so prone to doing, or the inevitable choruses of ‘We’ve Got Super Mik Arteta’ every time an opposition coach or attention-loving referee dares to square up to our man. Through our TV screens on Saturday evening, the always atmospheric Arsenal away could be heard piercing through the Liverpudlian noise, playing their part as they always do.

Amongst the festivities and in-laws, the days away from the Clock End feel long, meaningless and boring, and I cannot wait to be back there. To be part of the movement that’s been gathering momentum at Arsenal in recent years.

Make no mistake about it, in terms of passion, community and support, we sit at the same table as Liverpool now. And, undoubtedly, we sit at the same table as them and their north-west neighbours City in terms of (foggin) footballing standards, too.

We’ve learnt the hard way that you have to be nye-on perfect to challenge for this league, and I know that if Arsenal need an additional boost come May, the Emirates atmosphere has all the tools it needs to lift the team towards its aspirations.

Merry Christmas Gooners. I hope the atmosphere around your dinner table is as communal, spiritual, and joy-inducing as that of the Emirates under Super Mik Arteta.