Klopp Delivers Honest Verdict On Mikel Arteta ahead of clash

Liverpool scored eight goals without reply in four meetings with Arsenal last season but with the Gunners now on a run of seven wins from eight at the start of the new campaign, Klopp sung the praises of both his opposite number Mikel Arteta and the patience he has been handed to get Sunday’s opponents to their lofty position at the top of the table.

“Mikel has done a really, really good job,” he said. “When you need some time, nobody wants to give you it. Not all of us deserve it, perhaps, because you still have to be good to use it.

“Mikel obviously did. I have lots of respect for it. They had a lot of talent over the last few years, Martinelli I was excited about very early on and he’s become the player I expected.

“Martin Odegaard I spoke to when he was 15 years old, and the whole world wanted him before he chose Real Madrid. He’s become the player everyone expected, Saka from the first day he played he’s been incredible and if anyone knew how good Gabriel Jesus could be as a number nine not in a Man City shirt, then it was Mikel.

“He’s brought Xhaka back on track, everyone knew how (good) Thomas Partey was when he was at Atletico, and now they’ve found a way how they want to defend. They played a different line-up on Thursday but still with lots of quality; it’s a young team, a very exciting team and doing very well, which is well-deserved.”