Mikel Arteta has paid a special tribute to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ahead of his trip to Arsenal on Sunday.
The Emirates Stadium plays host to a big game this weekend but it’s far more of a must-win encounter for Klopp’s side.
Liverpool are seventh in the Premier League table and defeat could potentially leave them eight points behind Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.
It’s been a dismal defence of the Reds’ Premier League title but so much of that is down to the freak injury crisis that has crippled Klopp’s central-defensive options for most of the campaign.
Still, the German, who ended the club’s 30-year wait for a league title last term, after already delivering a Champions League crown 12 months earlier, has a lot of credit in the bank on Merseyside and even finishing outside the top four is unlikely to cost him his job.
This is the former Borussia Dortmund coach’s fifth full season in the Premier League and barring this campaign, Liverpool have progressively improved in a massive way under his watch.
For the most part, Klopp, along with sporting director Michael Edwards and his coaching staff, has turned the team into an extremely well-oiled machine on the field, and the Arsenal boss, who only has 15 months of senior management under his belt, has lavished praise on his opposite number ahead of Sunday’s clash.
He told the Gunners’ official website: “I think what they’ve done is remarkable. It’s been really intelligent. The way they managed resources and the way they have maximised resources has been exceptional. They’ve done it really, really well and now it is about sustaining that.”
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