Jurgen Klopp has seemingly suggested that Manchester City would not sell a player to Liverpool when reflecting on Gabriel Jesus’ summer move to Arsenal.
The Brazilian was one of three players City sold to rival ‘big six’ clubs in the summer, with Oleksandr Zinchenko also joining him at the Emirates and Raheem Sterling being sold to Chelsea. Meanwhile, talks were also held regarding a potential return to Stamford Bridge for Nathan Ake.
And while he stopped short of hinting that Liverpool had ever been in the market for one of Pep Guardiola’s players, he shared his admiration for the forward when admitting he was not surprised at Jesus’ impressive start since joining the Gunners.
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“I don’t know Gabriel on a personal basis but I always liked him as a player,” Klopp told reporters. “I don’t think City, actually I know City wouldn’t have sold him to every club but Arsenal, the distance was big enough.
“Geographically! They did it. He’s an exceptional player, you always saw that when he played for City. His role at City was the nine, a winger.
“Last year everybody said City had no number nine. He was still there but he played more often from the wing. Now he can play his role. He’s flying in the moment, full of confidence.
“That’s what confidence does to top-quality players. If you’re not playing against them, it’s easy to enjoy what he’s doing at the moment. Now he’s our opponent for the weekend so we have to make sure that he stops flying for a weekend.”
Jesus isn’t the only Arsenal player that Klopp admires, however, with Liverpool being linked with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka in recent years. Meanwhile, the German previously tried to sign Martin Odegaard when he was in charge at Borussia Dortmund.
And with such transfer speculation still ongoing despite Arsenal’s strong start to the season, the German was full of praise for the trio once again ahead of his side’s trip to the Emirates.
“They had a lot of talent already in the last three years,” he said. “I think Martinelli, very early I was excited about him and he’s become exactly the player I expected he would be.
“Martin Odegaard, I spoke to him when he was 15 from Norway when the whole world wanted him and he decided on Real Madrid. I remember it like it was yesterday, we sat on a table with his dad and we were all so excited.
“And then there were a few difficult years but that is normal when you were that much in the spotlight. He’s become the player everybody expected him to become at that time.
“Saka, I think from the first day since he’s been playing he’s been incredible. Gabriel Jesus, if anybody knew how good he could be not in a Man City shirt, in a fixed role, the fixed number nine in a line-up, then it was Mikel because he worked together with him.
“Same with Zinchenko. It’s a young team, a very exciting team doing really well and they are in the position they are which is well-deserved.”
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