Liverpool’s German manager Jurgen Klopp has been singing the praises of Arsenal boss Unai Emery before their sides face-off at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
In what should be a highly entertaining game, Liverpool travel to play Emery’s Arsenal in the Premier League with both sides, at different times, displaying some scintillating form in recent months.
Klopp spoke of how Emery took on a tough task, replacing Arsene Wenger who had been at the North London club for 22 years.
“Arsène Wenger is one of the best managers in the world, there’s no doubt about it,” Klopp told his pre-match press conference.
“And sometimes after a long time when the mood in a club changes, it’s quite difficult to work against that.
“That was the situation a bit last year, people respected him a lot but on the other side they thought ‘now we should change something’.
“A change is only good if it is for the better. Unai Emery, all people in football knew how good he is, but I am not sure all Arsenal fans were over the moon at first when they heard it would be Emery.
“Not for all the people in football, though. I saw yesterday that he won eight titles in two or three years. That’s pretty big. It was clear that things will change, and the players know now.
“If a new manager comes in – it was the same with me here – all players are immediately out of their comfort zone. They all have to prove from the first day that they are not only the name, they are the footballer as well. They used it obviously pretty well.”
Klopp will be hoping his Liverpool side can take the wind out of Arsenal’s sails this weekend as they hope to keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the table.