Jürgen Klopp's Arsenal analysis
Jürgen Klopp described Arsenal as a 'tough, tough, tough' opponent as he analysed Monday's Premier League meeting with the Gunners.
Having taken a maximum six points in the top flight so far this season, Liverpool next host Mikel Arteta’s side at Anfield – the first of a double-header before they clash in the Carabao Cup fourth round three days later.
At his pre-match press conference on Friday, Klopp detailed the challenges of facing Arsenal, who beat the Reds in the teams’ previous league fixture and edged August’s FA Community Shield on penalties.
The boss also fielded questions on Liverpool’s unbeaten record at Anfield in the Premier League – which now stands at 60 games – and on the possibility of improving on last season’s level of performance.
Read a summary below…
On facing an Arsenal team managed by Arteta…
I’m not sure if I should compare it [with the past]. But Mikel Arteta showed in a very short period of time that he seems to be an exceptional football manager, obviously, because the team he sets up now – the structure of the team – is absolutely exceptional. You can see the balance between defence and offense is really good, you can see a lot of things which obviously are pretty helpful in football – good organisation but freedom for the players as well, uses the players in the right positions. I have to say, since he’s there he did a pretty impressive job, to be honest, and changed I think the whole mood in the club. I don’t know exactly what the mood was before he arrived but I don’t think a lot of people thought at the end of the season he would have won any competition or something like that – and he did that by winning the FA Cup and winning the [FA Community Shield]. That’s pretty impressive, I have to say. So it’s a tough, tough, tough opponent, 100 per cent.
On how the Gunners cause teams problems…
It’s the defensive structure, 100 per cent. They defend properly, I have to say. All the players are involved in their defending, they defend probably in a 5-4-1, which when you have quality players in the team is, for the other team, a pretty tricky situation. Then with the speed they have for the counter-attack, that can cause you some trouble. That’s the situation, it’s pretty simple.
We played them now twice. In the [Community Shield] game it was an open game and we were unlucky in moments and stuff like this, all that is clear. In the league game I think we helped them slightly [be] on their toes because that night we presented the goals on a plate, if that makes sense in English, or we made presents. I think that was one of the few games where in moments we dropped concentration; it was late last season and Arsenal were really waiting for these kind of things. That game, we were really good apart from two or three moments; they scored, we didn’t score often enough and that’s why we lost the game, but it was actually a good game. And that night, I think we could have won but we didn’t and we accept that obviously. I can say a lot of positive things about Arsenal, because it’s true, but I think we still have a chance on Monday night.
On whether Liverpool’s unbeaten league run at Anfield makes him go into home games not expecting his side to lose…
No, actually the only moment when I think about that number is when somebody asks me about it; and actually, when I answer this question I forget it immediately. Again, because I’m absolutely not interested. We did what we did, we tried to win football games. We did that at home in different circumstances; we won football games at home at night time, at lunchtime, in different moments, with supporters, without supporters. It’s our home – we feel really well there, that’s true, but it’s no secret recipe or whatever that we have. We never expect to lose, to be honest, but we don’t expect either to win. We know we have to work and we want to deserve three points. That’s what we want. That’s it pretty much, nothing else to say about [it].
PL 2020-21 PL 2020-21
On whether the Reds can get better than they were last year…
I don’t know, we will give it a try. But I don’t think we were unplayable last year, to be honest, or it didn’t feel like this over the whole season. It was just always really tough, really hard, really intense and that’s what we expect this year as well. I don’t know if we can be better than last year, I don’t know if last year we were better than the year before just because we had two points more or became champions. We always tried to do the right things in the right moment. Yes, we are an offensive-orientated team, but without a very good defensive structure you have absolutely no chance. We won one game in the Premier League now 2-0, in the end against 10 men of Chelsea. The other one was a 4-3; after that game probably people said, ‘Up front they score but in the defence they struggle.’ Neither nor, to be honest. We don’t have a proper defensive struggle, and [it’s] not that we cannot stop scoring. It’s really that we try to do our absolute best in each game and that’s something I loved in both [league] games so far, and something I loved especially last night. Because if the team from last night would have worn a different shirt, I still would have known it is us. I like that a lot because this kind of identity, we really want to make sure that everybody can see that.