Jurgen Klopp will look to get one over Mikel Arteta for the second time in a matter of days tonight at Anfield.
Liverpool beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Premier League on Monday night, Klopp’s first win over Arteta since he became Gunners boss last year.
Both sides are expected to make changes for the Carabao Cup tie, with a place in the last eight up for grabs.
Despite ending their unbeaten start to the season, Klopp admitted he was delighted to see the resurgence Arsenal have gone through under Arteta.
“I think this is great for the Premier League if I’m being honest," Klopp admitted.
“From a selfish point of view, not great for us because it is another outstandingly strong team in a competition full of them. But Arsenal is a fantastic football club and therefore as a football fan, I love to see them in this sort of mood.”
And speaking in his programme notes for their second meeting in a week, Klopp has doubled down on his admiration of Arsenal’s squad under the Spaniard.
“Tonight will be hard – super hard,” he said in his programme notes. “Again, without sounding like an Arsenal fan, I really love their squad and I love what they do at the moment.
“But I love us more. I love what we do. I love what we stand for and how we approach our work. I love the humility of our approach and our commitment to be better in each given moment.
“Our supporters expect and deserve each Liverpool team that is selected to represent them in a way that makes them proud. That’s our task tonight. We do not have fans with us at Anfield in person but they are with us still from a distance.
“We know they show the same commitment while watching whichever competition we play in and we will match that with our approach. Again, we can’t promise a result but we can do our best and give all we have.”
Klopp could hand a full debut to Diogo Jota after the forward struck his first goal of the season last time out, with a much-changed Liverpool squad expected.
“It is likely we will make changes this evening but I hate that this is perceived in a way that certain games matter more than others,” he added.
We can pick what we believe to be the best side for this fixture. Pick the team we think has the best chance of getting us through to the next round.”
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