Jurgen Klopp has described Mikel Arteta as an "exceptional football manager" as the German targets his first win over Arsenal since Mikel Arteta launched his north London revolution. (More Football News)
Liverpool manager Klopp saw his championship-winning side fall to a rare Premier League loss in July when they faced Arteta's Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal then inflicted a penalty shoot-out defeat on Liverpool in the Community Shield at the end of August, leaving Klopp still searching for that elusive victory over Pep Guardiola's former assistant.
On Tuesday, the teams resume their intriguing recent rivalry at Anfield, and while Klopp is confident Liverpool can extend their 100 per cent start to the season, he can see Arteta instilling a culture at Arsenal that is built for success.
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After nine months at the helm, a club that was blighted by instability before Arteta's arrival looks to have a firm footing and a sense of direction.
"Mikel Arteta has shown in a pretty short period of time that he seems to be an exceptional football manager. The structure of the team is absolutely exceptional.
"You can see the balance between defence and offence is really good. There's good organisation, freedom for the players and he uses the players in the right position.
"Since he's been there, he's done a pretty impressive job, changed the whole mood in the club. I don't think a lot of people thought he would have won any competition, but he did that by winning the FA Cup and also the English 'Super Cup' [the Community Shield].
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"That’s pretty impressive. So it's a tough, tough opponent," Klopp said.
Arteta, for his part, is in awe of the winning culture created by Klopp at Liverpool and the German's ability to root out any early signs of complacency, acknowledging they are at a level the Gunners aspire to.
The Spaniard presided over a penalty shoot-out victory against the Reds after a 1-1 draw in the Community Shield at the end of August, while they also won the most recent league encounter at Emirates Stadium 2-1, but Arteta accepts Arsenal have a way to go to reach Liverpool's standard.
"It's a different level, they have done it in the Premier League, in the Champions League, that's why the bar is so high, not only them but Man City as well in recent years, that's the level and you have to be able to compete at that level.
"This is our context and our reality. We want to be one of those teams – the basic things have to be implemented every day," Arteta told reporters ahead of Monday's meeting at Anfield.
Arsenal finished 43 points worse off than Liverpool last season and Arteta laughed off the idea that the Gunners will completely wipe that deficit out in 2020 -21, though he does hope Klopp's side drop off a little.
"First of all, you need a really individual performance by all of them [the players, to beat Liverpool]. You need certain luck, for sure, in moments in the game and [to be] so consistent through the game because, in any moment, they can open you up and [you] get exposed," he added.
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With that here's how you can watch the match:
Match details
What: Liverpool Vs Arsenal Premier League 2020-21 match
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
When: September 29 (Tuesday), 2020. Kick off time - 12:30 AM IST.
TV Telecast: Star Sports 1, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD
Live Streaming: Disney+Hotstar VIP
Likely XIs:
Liverpool: Adrian; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Thiago, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Arsenal: Leno; Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Saka; Willian, Lacazette,
Aubameyang.
(With Omnisport inputs)
