Comparing Mikel Arteta’s start at Arsenal to Klopp’s start at Liverpool

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp greets Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the final whistle during the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium. July 2020.

Nathan Egerton
7th May 2022

Mikel Arteta is starting to turn things around at Arsenal – but how does his start at the club compare to Jurgen Klopp’s first two years at Liverpool?

Arteta was named as Unai Emery’s permanent successor in December 2019 and led Arsenal to an FA Cup final win in his first season.

But the Gunners finished eighth in the Premier League in 2019-20 and failed to move up the table in the following season. They have made a lot of progress in 2021-22 and Arteta has now been rewarded with a new contract.

The Spaniard will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Klopp, who became Liverpool manager in October 2015 and made gradual improvements.

Since finishing fourth in Klopp’s third season, Liverpool have gone from strength to strength. They’ve won the Premier League, reached three Champions League finals and are widely regarded as one of the best teams in the world.

While Klopp is focusing on Liverpool’s quadruple bid this season, he has still been impressed with Arteta’s work at the Emirates.

“I can’t even remember their start [to the 2021-22 season], I just see them playing now,” Klopp said in March 2022. “They have a clear structure, clear idea, properly tuned, possession-based, young, full of talent and joy.

“If you go through the line-up there’s an experienced striker and then three very exciting young boys and then a bit more experience in the double six and then a pretty inexperienced backline and a young goalkeeper, and that’s not with [Emile] Smith Rowe even in, and then on top of the other guys, it’s interesting.

“Other teams will not like it because it’s another big name back on track but that’s how it looks. There are similarities [to us], you can say it like this, they’re a massive club and qualification for European football in the last few years is not exactly how they wanted it.

“If they get Champions League this year, it will feel as good [as it did] for us the first time. A step in the right direction, an exciting team.

“Arsenal fans, maybe since I was in England, it was not always easy for them to enjoy. But they seem to be now and that’s exactly how it should be.”

Arteta has now taken charge of 126 Arsenal games and we’ve taken a look at how his record compares with Jurgen Klopp’s first 126 Liverpool games.