Liverpool supporters mercilessly mocked Arsenal after their trophy drought continued as they displayed brutal caricatures at Anfield on Sunday.
Licking their wounds, Mikel Arteta’s side gave the Premier League champions a guard of honour before being suckerpunched by two goals in the space of a minute.
Cody Gakpo nodded home Andy Robertson’s inch-perfect cross to open the scoring before Luis Diaz stretched to prod home Dominik Szoboszlai’s ball just seconds later.
The quickfire hammerblows arguably encapsulated Arsenal’s season after its initial promise fizzled out into another campaign without silverware.
Once in a title fight, they face a scrap just to finish second, acres behind Liverpool, while they were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by PSG.
But they would find no sympathy at the home of the 20-time champions of England.
Liverpool supporters mocked Mikel Arteta by mocking him up in a bridesmaid’s outfit
Martin Odegaard was also the butt of the joke after his camera celebration last season
One spectator wore a t-shirt showing Odegaard taking a photo of Liverpool’s title winners
Ahead of kick-off, a banner was unfurled in the Kop depicting an unflattering picture of Arteta wearing a bridal outfit and holding a bouquet of flowers.
In a clear dig at Arsenal’s repeated near-misses in major competitions under the Spaniard, the caption read: ‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride’.
Eyes were also drawn to the two Liver bids perched on footballs alongside the number two, creating ’20’ – a reference to the club’s number of top-flight titles.
Martin Odegaard also brought the brunt of the ridicule.
Arsenal’s captain memorably took a picture of the club’s photographer after their 3-1 win over Liverpool at the Emirates in February 2024 – and the moment seemingly came back to bite him after a cardboard cutout was spotted on Sunday.
Odegaard had been told to ‘get down the tunnel’ by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher while Gary Neville said the celebrations showed ‘a little bit of immaturity’.
Liverpool supporters apparently agreed and responded in kind by holding aloft a large depiction of Odegaard taking a photo, alongside the caption: ‘Smile champions’.
Following a similar theme, one spectator sported a custom t-shirt with a mocked-up picture of Odegaard taking a picture of Liverpool’s victorious title-winning squad.
Arteta’s side have been made to endure another season without a trophy
They were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Paris Saint-Germain
The text below simply read: ‘A picture paints a thousand words’.
Arsenal eventually settled into a rhythm on the pitch in the second half and halved the deficit when Gabriel Martinelli guided a deft header into the far corner.
They then drew level on 70 minutes, Merino touching home a rebound after Alisson clawed Martin Odegaard’s powerful strike onto the woodwork.
