Jurgen Klopp yesterday announced that he is to depart Liverpool at the end of the season, which could be a positive for Arsenal.
Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League, five points ahead of Arsenal, and the two sides will face off next Sunday in what will be a crucial game in the title race.
Klopp joined Liverpool in 2015, and he has given Arsenal nightmares since. Arsenal have conceded 50 goals in 22 games against his side, and have suffered cup exits and humiliation as they struggled to match their level a lot during the German’s reign.
Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta all managed Arsenal since Klopp’s arrival, and Klopp’s first full season in charge coincided with Arsenal’s first failure to finish in the top four in over 20 years, as Wenger’s side finished just one point below Liverpool in 2017.
Arsenal went through a decline whilst Liverpool enjoyed sustained success under their manager, but Arteta has made the Gunners competitive again, and finished 17 points ahead of Klopp’s side.
Mikel Arteta did to Jurgen Klopp what Wenger and Emery could not
Since Klopp joined Liverpool, Arsenal have beaten his side just four times in 22 attempts across all competitions.
Remarkably, none of these victories came under Wenger or Emery, as it took Arteta’s arrival to start gaining positive results against Klopp, as the only Arsenal manager to beat the German in his time at Liverpool.
Arteta beat Klopp in his first attempt, with a 2-1 victory at the Emirates in July 2020, albeit in a game where Liverpool had already won the title and taken the foot off the gas.
He then beat him again less than two months later in the Community Shield, as Arsenal won on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Arteta gained three victories in a row against Klopp as a 0-0 draw at Anfield was settled by penalties in the Carabao Cup, despite Arsenal then performing poorly for the rest of that season.
The best victory of them all came at the start of last season, as a dramatic 3-2 victory at the Emirates confirmed Arsenal as title contenders and raised questions about Klopp’s side.
Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery could not beat Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
A big feature of Arteta’s Arsenal revival has been improved results in the biggest games, and this is emphasised by the fact that his predecessors struggled against Liverpool every time.
Wenger oversaw dramatic 2-2 and 3-3 draws with Klopp, as well as a 3-4 home defeat, a 3-1 away loss, and a 4-0 humiliation at Anfield, before leaving the club two and a half years after the former Borussia Dortmund coach arrived in England.
Emery started well against Klopp with an impressive 1-1 draw at the Emirates, before losing 5-1 and 3-1 in his other attempts, and was also knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 5-5 draw at Anfield shortly before being dismissed.
Wenger did secure victories over Klopp’s Dortmund sides in the Champions League, both home and away, whilst Emery did actually beat his Liverpool side in the 2016 Europa League final with Sevilla.
The two coaches had squads levels below Liverpool’s during Klopp’s prime and Arsenal’s dip, but Arteta managed to crack the code to finally start beating them, and he will hope to secure one final victory against his Liverpool side next Sunday.
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