At the time of Jurgen Klopp‘s surprise announcement that he would be stepping down as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the Reds were still competing in all four competitions – Premier League, FA Cup, Europa League and EFL Cup – and they were determined to give the legendary manager the perfect send-off.
Their season failed to live up to the extreme promise as they made quarter-final exits from both the Europa League and FA Cup and finished nine points behind the champions in third place, but Klopp still left with a winners’ medal after his side triumphed against Chelsea in the EFL Cup final.
The Reds are now midway through their first pre-season without Klopp at the helm since 2015, with new manager Arne Slot the man given the challenging task of replacing the German coach.
Slot, who impressed in his time at Feyenoord by guiding them to third, first and second-placed finishes, endured a difficult debut in charge of Liverpool, suffering a 1-0 loss to Preston North End in a behind-closed-doors friendly, despite naming a team including Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
They were able to bounce back with a victory in their next match, defeating Real Betis 1-0 thanks to Szoboszlai’s first-half strike and dominating possession with 63% of the ball, an indicator of Liverpool’s new tactical approach under Slot.
Liverpool remain the only team in the Premier League yet to make a first-team signing, leaving Slot having to utilise the immensely talented existing squad during their pre-season tour.
Their third friendly will pit them against a familiar foe in Arsenal, whom they were embroiled in a title race with for a large duration of the previous campaign.
The Gunners fell short in the race for the Premier League trophy for the second successive time last year, finishing five points behind Manchester City in 2022-23 and two points behind in 2023-24.
Mikel Arteta‘s men took Pep Guardiola‘s side right to the final day, but despite a 2-1 victory against Everton, Man City comfortably beat West Ham United to lift their fourth consecutive league title, a Premier League record.
STREAM LINKS >>> Stream 1 Stream 2 Stream 3
Arteta will be desperate to put an end to Man City’s dominance and guide Arsenal to the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2003-04 in the upcoming season, with a tough pre-season schedule sure to prepare them for the challenge.
The Gunners drew 1-1 in their opening friendly against Bournemouth, defeating them in a penalty shootout, before coming from behind to beat Manchester United 2-1 in their most recent outing.
Arsenal will now be gearing up for a difficult fixture against Liverpool, who they beat, lost to and drew with last season, before facing Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon in preparation for their season opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
