Mikel Arteta will be using that as fuel for the match.
Gabriel Jesus joined Arsenal this summer from Manchester City and has been a big hit for his new club, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp couldn’t help but throw in a sly comment about the transfer.
It was all tongue in cheek of course, but with The Reds set to play the London side on Sunday afternoon in a clash that could really cement Mikel Arteta’s team as genuine title contenders, this will certainly throw some fuel on the fire.
When asked in a press conference about the the Brazilian and his early success in an Arsenal shirt, the German native couldn’t help but joke about the transfer.
“I know City wouldn’t have sold him to every club, but with Arsenal obviously the distance was big enough…geographically.”
Although just a joke, the inference is that Pep Guardiola would never have let a striker of that capability go to opponents who might challenge City this season.
Liverpool have been completely dominant against the North London team under Klopp, with players like Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota finding it particularly easy to score against them.
Although it’s the team from Merseyside who have been City’s biggest competitors in recent years, Arsenal are in a much healthier place this season.
With nine places and 11 points between Liverpool and the current table toppers, you could argue that for the first time, in a long time, that you would rather be an Arsenal fan right now.
Of course, Klopp was hugely complimentary of the striker as well, and marks him out as a dangerous threat who they need to cope with on Sunday evening.
“He’s flying at the moment, he’s full of confidence. That’s what confidence does to top quality, top class players. If you don’t have to play against them, it’s easy to enjoy what he’s doing at the moment.
“It’s our opponent for the weekend so we have to make sure that he will stop flying for a weekend.”
