Mikel Arteta scoffs at idea Arsenal now have Liverpool’s ‘monster mentality’

Mikel Arteta has scoffed at the idea his high-flying Arsenal can be mentioned in the same breath as Jurgen Klopp ’s stuttering Liverpool.

The Gunners will still be top of the table – and a remarkable 14 points clear of the Merseysiders – if they beat them at the Emirates on Sunday. But forget that present picture – and the massive gap in points.

According to Arteta, his red-hot squad are still nowhere near the sort of levels, which have been produced regularly by Klopp’s sizzlers in recent years. The Spanish coach has seen his North Londoners side take the league by storm, winning nine of their ten league outings ahead of Liverpool’s visit.

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However, asked if that near-perfect sequence means they now possess that ‘monster mentality’ Klopp loves to boast about when discussing his own team, Arteta’s response was an emphatic no.

He declared: “Not yet! Because we have to do that for a season, for two seasons, three seasons – every three days. And we haven’t done that yet.”

Indeed. Just one win in the last 14 clashes against Liverpool rams home the reality of the gulf between them of late.

But with the second meanest defence in the Premier League this term, the Gunners appear to be building the right foundations. William Saliba and Gabriel are blossoming as a pair in the centre.

However, as delighted as he is with his new duo, he rejected the suggestion they are even close to being classed in the same company as Liverpool’s silky defensive Dutch maestro, Virgil van Dijk.

Arteta went on: “The moment they win everything is the right moment.

“I don’t see central defenders as individuals, they are always partnerships and there has to be an element of chemistry, understanding and complementing each other. Our two maximise each other’s qualities in a really positive way.”

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