Jürgen Klopp: The boys have used the full week to prepare – let's show it
Jürgen Klopp has been pleased with the way his Liverpool squad have utilised their full week to prepare for the Arsenal encounter and challenged them to prove it with a strong showing on Saturday.
The Reds have had lengthy time to prepare for the affair with Unai Emery's side after beating Southampton last weekend following the UEFA Super Cup triumph in Istanbul.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference at Melwood on Friday afternoon, Klopp stated his excitement about the meeting between the only two teams to possess a 100 per cent start to the Premier League campaign.
“We believe in training, so we hope we can see the impact," he said. "If we cannot see it tomorrow then we should see it in the next couple of weeks.
"We work on a lot of tactical stuff. Tactical work is always possible, but you kind of have 20 minutes usually and that’s not really cool.
"So this week we had today, yesterday and the day before yesterday – three days where we could pretty much work on everything which we thought we have to improve on, it's all the things we have to do during the season. That's really good.
"It's about defending, attacking, about everything. That's what you're involved in [during] a week like that.
"We said at the beginning of the week, 'This is really important that we use it and I expect 100 per cent concentration in all these sessions'. That's what the boys showed. But at the end, we still have to play tomorrow against Arsenal.
"They [Arsenal] probably didn't sleep the last week, they did very important things for them as well. Like it should be, it's a big opponent, very strong opponent, it’s Anfield, it’s us, so I’m looking forward to it."
Liverpool have started the 2019-20 season with two wins from two in the top flight, with a piece of silverware sandwiched in between.
The mood currently inside the dressing room is a positive one, but it's laced with a determination to build on last season's success.
Klopp continued: "The spirit in the team could not be better at the moment – they won the Champions League last year together and won 32 games, I don't know exactly. So if they would not be close then that would be really funny.
"They're very close, but what you need is a competitive team spirit as well. You have to kick the butts of your teammates in the right moment. It's a very competitive team spirit what you need to be really difficult to beat and all that stuff.
"It's not about wanting to have a drink every night together, it's about doing the right things and knowing much better than others for who you are doing it for – for your mates, for your best friend.
"I like what Hendo said in pre-season when he got asked about that, he said, 'Yes, we will stay friends forever'. That’s how it is, but in the moment we have to be friends, not best friends, because best friends means that everything what you do is what the other guy likes.
"We have to push each other, we have to be really as a team. I use the word too often probably, but we have to be as a team very angry about everything else around.
"We have to really stay greedy in all these things – and we are, I'm not in doubt about that – but that's what I mean in a different kind of team spirit.
"The best team spirit in the world is not helpful if it's only about being together and stuff like this. We need this kind of team spirit where everybody pushes each other.
"That's what we had, what we have, but we need to have it as well in the future. That's not guaranteed, you have to work on that every day and that's what we try to do."