“He’s always a threat whenever the ball is in his legs, he doesn’t give our defenders a breathing chance with every of his dangerous touches”- Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp name the only Arsenal player that He is afraid to face today – Not Bukayo Saka and Not Martinelli
Jurgen Klopp highlighted last season’s visit from Arsenal as the “awakening moment” for a Liverpool side who have lost just one in 27 Premier League games since that April draw at Anfield.
But the Reds boss has declared himself unconcerned with the prospect of spending Christmas Day as league leaders with victory over the Gunners at home on Saturday.
Liverpool trailed the then league leaders at Anfield 2-0 on Easter Sunday before forcing their way back into the game through Mohamed Salah’s goal. The Reds dominated the second period and missed a penalty before Roberto Firmino equalised and Ibrahima Konate spurned a glorious chance to win it late on.
Since that draw on April 9, Klopp’s side have lost just once in the league, which came back in September when Liverpool had two men sent off at Tottenham before conceding a stoppage-time own goal after being on the wrong end of a huge VAR mistake when Luis Diaz’s goal wrongly was ruled out for offside.
Klopp pointed to Arsenal’s most recent visit as the turning point for his team ahead of their return to Merseyside on Saturday evening as he previewed the top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.
“Yes it was [a turning point],” Klopp said. “It was a nice awakening moment in general. Coming back in that game and it was a change in that season thankfully. It made the last bit of the season more enjoyable than the first bit, the longer bit of it.
“You should hand out a trophy if [being top at Christmas] is quite a big thing here. It’s not even the first half of the season because we play the next game against Burnley and we could be somewhere, so I cannot help with that.
“You have done it since I have been here and sometimes we have been (top) and others not but it’s pretty much the best thing to be but it’s only important at the end of the season. Other than that it is not because it is about winning football games and that is the only way to get there, and that is why I just don’t have it in my mind.
“It’s not that I think (win at) Burnley and then we are ‘blah blah blah’ and we can run away with it. It will not happen that anyone will run away with it this season and that makes a title race a real title race. We all, whoever wants to win this league, we have to be super consistent. That was always the case. Whoever is, with the quality they have, has a good chance to do it. So for that you have to perform.
“Performance is the mother of the result and if we play on our top level we are difficult to play against and if we do that then we have a chance. If not, Arsenal or whoever will win that race.”
Klopp added: “Arsenal is a football playing side, always was with Arsene Wenger and only recently I looked in my eight years here Arsenal have had only three [managers] and only two since Arsene in Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta.
“He is doing an incredible job and it was always a football side so that made the results when we had them – I think we drew 5-5 once, won on penalties – and besides that it’s always tough games. My highlights when I will look back in the future will maybe be away wins at Arsenal. Not because it’s Arsenal but because of the performance.
“So the 4-3 there with Sadio Mane and Phil Coutinho (2016) and the Carabao Cup semi with Diogo Jota (2022), these kinds of things. They are just really good games and I expect that tomorrow, a really good football game.
“They are in a good moment and we’re not in a bad moment and that is usually the recipe for a good football game so that is why, I am pretty sure I have played them more than most other teams because we draw them a lot in cups. It is a top club and a good opponent. We play them in the cup and then toe or home game and even the youth cup! That is one game I am not involved in.”
