The outoome of Liverpool's clash with Manchester City is likely to hinge on how Virgil van Dijk copes with "absolute phenomenon" Erling Haaland, according to Gary Neville.

City trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by a point ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday, while Liverpool are 13 points further back, seemingly out of title contention already.

Pep Guardiola's men are the only unbeaten side in the Premier League, thanks in no small part to the extraordinary exploits of Haaland.

Having only played nine games in the top flight, Haaland has already broken the records for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 appearances in the competition. 

A trip to Merseyside will see Norway striker face arguably his toughest opponent yet in Van Dijk, and Neville is excited by the prospect of their duel.

"I still think, no matter what form Liverpool are in and where they are, Sunday will still feel like the toughest game they [City] are going to face," Neville told Sky Sports.

"Look, at the end of the day you know what I feel about those two clubs, but on Sunday you can't help but think of Haaland against Van Dijk.

"You just can't stop thinking about how that's going to play out. The best centre-back in the world for the last three or four years, who has struggled a little bit more this season. 

"But he's against this absolute phenomenon. That Liverpool back line, which pushes up with space in behind… I'm fascinated by that, I can't wait for it, to be honest."

Liverpool are winless in their last five Premier League meetings with the champions (D3 L2) – they have never previously gone six without a victory against City in the league.

Jamie Carragher has told Liverpool to focus on stopping Kevin De Bruyne in Sunday's clash against Manchester City, which he believes would cut the supply to Erling Haaland.

Jurgen Klopp's side welcome City to Anfield after a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign, sitting 13 points behind their opponents following a defeat to Arsenal last week.

Stopping City from extending that gap will be tough, particularly with Haaland in such incredible goalscoring form. The former Borussia Dortmund has already scored 15 league goals, only eight fewer than the 23 managed by Golden Boot winners Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah last season.

While that may encourage Liverpool to pay special attention to the 22-year-old, former Reds defender Carragher believes the key factor will be limiting De Bruyne's influence on the game.

"I'd almost be more focused on De Bruyne rather than Haaland in this game," he told Sky Sports' Essential Football podcast.

"If you stop De Bruyne, you take 50 per cent away from Haaland as well as the connection the two have got is there already. And for me, De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is "not thinking one second" over a potential contract extension as his team prepare to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Having joined City in 2016 and led them to four of the last five Premier League titles, Guardiola's side once again look favourites to win the league.

They are the only remaining unbeaten team in the Premier League this season and are kept off the top spot by just Arsenal.

But with Guardiola's current set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, there are fears he may depart in similar fashion to the sabbatical period he took when leaving Barcelona in 2012 if a new agreement is not made.

However, Guardiola says he is not even considering his contract situation yet. 

"You know I am not thinking one second about that," he said.

"We have two or three weeks until the World Cup and this is an important time. After that, we have plenty of time to talk about that."

Sunday's fixture sees City face their closest competitors over the past couple of years, with the Citizens and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finishing as the top two in three of the past five campaigns.

After finishing as runners-up in both the Premier League and Champions League last term, Liverpool have struggled at the beginning of this season, winning just two of their eight league games and already finding themselves 13 points behind City and 14 behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool's star forward Mohamed Salah has faced particular criticism for his poor start, but Guardiola believes the Egypt international will come good.

"These type of players always score goals in their career," Guardiola added. "Sometimes they struggle a little bit, but the quality is there.

"They get chances, they convert it. We played many times against Liverpool. Just because Salah isn't scoring goals now doesn't mean he's not going to score."

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will experience a familiar rush heading into Sunday's clash with Manchester City, despite writing off their Premier League title chances.

Klopp has openly dismissed the possibility of the Reds contending for top spot this term, having already slipped 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and 13 adrift of champions City.

Liverpool have regularly been City's closest challengers in recent seasons, twice taking them to the final day and winning the title themselves in 2019-20.

As such, matches between the two teams have made for compelling viewing, with the championship seemingly on the line.

Yet Klopp, while acknowledging his side will not be celebrating come May, suggests the title element could still be relevant this weekend as Liverpool welcome City – "definitely the best football team in the world" – to Anfield.

"It could be [a title decider] this year... just not with us," Klopp said.

"When you play City, the results left and right are not really important. This game requires all your focus, requires all the things you know about football.

"I enjoy preparing the game really, but it's the biggest challenge you can face in football.

"Football is all about closing down spaces, closing down players, making challenges in the right areas, these kind of things. With City, it's always: if you close down here, they are there; if you close down that gap, you open up that gap. The pitch is so big, and we have only 10 players to close all the gaps.

"It's always a challenge. It's not that we now feel different; it's a home game, it's Anfield, it's us against Man City.

"They are, at the moment, definitely the best football team in the world, that's how it is. But we will give it a try anyway, knowing there are no guarantees. We get help from a full Anfield and we try to use that."

Liverpool come into the match on a high after winning 7-1 against Rangers in the Champions League.

That was an encouraging result and performance for Klopp, but having also beaten Bournemouth 9-0 this season before again struggling, he added a joke at his team's expense.

"It's helpful when these boys at least still know where the goal is," he said. "We just need to spread the goals a bit more to different games.

"We should not focus on one, then nine, then seven, then nil. We know that."

Jurgen Klopp became aware of Erling Haaland's "insane" potential when he faced Liverpool with Salzburg, and the Reds boss believes the striker has found "a perfect fit" at Manchester City.

Liverpool were drawn into the same Champions League group as Haaland's Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.

Then 19, having hit a hat-trick against Genk on his Champions League debut, Haaland netted in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield.

The Norway international has scarcely stopped scoring since, earning moves to Klopp's former club Borussia Dortmund and then City, where he has an astonishing 20 goals in 13 games in all competitions.

Ahead of facing Haaland again on Sunday in the Premier League, Klopp was asked for his take on the dominant forward.

"Even when he was very young, younger than he is now, you could see the potential was insane," Klopp said.

"Physically, he sets new standards. The combination of being really physical and technical and [having] sensational awareness, his orientation on the pitch is exceptional, he is barely offside, he resets really well – there are so many things that make him a striker.

"Now, at City, he has some of the best players around him in the world in setting up goals and finding the right moment for the passes, with Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, [Riyad] Mahrez, whoever. They all are really good at that.

"It's a perfect fit, there is no doubt about that."

Asked how Haaland might compare to other elite forwards, with Robert Lewandowski name-checked as a player Klopp worked with previously, the Liverpool manager said: "For Erling, I think it's that he combines so many things, and it's rare.

"His finishing skills are exceptional, but he also moves really smart. You can only use the speed if you use it in a smart way, because just running is not helpful if you forget the ball or whatever. Especially behind the line, you need to make sure that you are patient enough in not being offside.

"The package makes him special."

So, do Liverpool have any special plans for dealing with Haaland? That is tricky, Klopp said, when he plays for a side as good as City.

"When you play against, at the moment, the best striker in the world, you have to make sure he doesn't get that many balls," Klopp explained.

"That's what we will try, but against City, obviously the problem is if you close Haaland down with too many players then you open up gaps for all the other world-class players, so that will not make life easier.

"It's a challenge, a football problem. We will try to find solutions."

Pep Guardiola is ignoring Liverpool's below-par start to the Premier League season ahead of Manchester City's trip to Anfield on Sunday, declaring: "Nothing changes what I feel about Liverpool."

City and Liverpool have finished as the Premier League's top two teams in three of the last four seasons, but the Reds trail the champions by 13 points after a poor start to the new campaign.

Liverpool's tally of 10 points is their lowest at this stage of a season since 2012-13 (nine), and Jurgen Klopp's team have already lost as many league games this campaign as they did throughout the entirety of last term (two).

That form represents quite the drop-off for a side who went tantalisingly close to a stunning quadruple in 2021-22, but Guardiola believes City will still face a stern test.

"I had the feeling at Anfield we have played really well [in the past]," Guardiola said on Friday. "It's different circumstances, but you have to behave at a top, top level. 

"In Anfield, winning or losing, we have behaved with an incredible personality. It's a football game, Liverpool is important because of the quality they have.

"Liverpool were going for a prestigious achievement of four titles. For two little details, they didn't achieve what no English team has done.

"I pay zero attention to them being in a good moment or bad moment. They know in the last years, we have fought for most of the competitions and titles, and it's been really close.

"We were a bit better, especially in the Premier League, but nothing changes what I feel about Liverpool."

Pushed on whether Liverpool remain title contenders, Guardiola said: "Liverpool have always been our biggest challengers, and they will be now. Being in the position that we are, with the World Cup, anything can happen."

City have picked up four points from their last two league trips to Anfield, just one fewer than they earned in their previous 17 visits to Liverpool (D5 L12).

Should Guardiola's men avoid defeat on Sunday, it will represent the first time they have done so in three consecutive away league games against Liverpool since December 1992.

City's efforts could be hampered by the absences of England trio Kalvin Phillips, John Stones and Kyle Walker, but Guardiola says Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva are raring to go after being rested at Copenhagen on Tuesday.

"John Stones will be back in, I don't know, maybe one week or 10 days. Kalvin is doing really well, but Kyle is out," Guardiola said.

"We have a lot of games, like all the teams. Players are recovering better. Erling could not play all the games last season. Bernardo was tired, but they feel good and are ready for Sunday."

Haaland has only played nine Premier League games for City, but he has already broken the records for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 outings in the competition.

The Norwegian is just one goal away from matching the record for most goals scored by a player across any 10-game stint in Premier League history, set by former Liverpool attacker Luis Suarez – who from October to December 2013 scored 16 goals for the Reds.

Joao Felix is increasingly frustrated with life at Atletico Madrid after dropping out of the starting XI in recent games.

The 22-year-old Portuguese is yet to score for the side in LaLiga or the Champions League this season and was an unused substitute in the midweek 0-0 draw with Club Brugge.

Atleti boss Diego Simeone has preferred Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Matheus Cunha and Angel Correa in attack recently.

TOP STORY – JOAO FELIX WANTS ATLETICO EXIT

Joao Felix has requested to leave Atletico Madrid in January, reports Fichajes.

The forward is frustrated that he has been used sparingly, largely outside the starting XI this term.

Joao Felix's contract runs until 2026 and it will likely require a hefty fee to sign him from Atleti, who paid €126 million for him in 2019.

Relevo claims that Atleti are not considering selling the Portuguese any time soon.

ROUND-UP

– ​ Frenkie de Jong is growing frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities at Barcelona and will look to exit the club in January should the situation not improve, claims SPORT. De Jong was at the centre of a drawn-out off-season saga, amid links to Manchester United.

– Granit Xhaka will earn a contract extension at Arsenal, reports Football Insider. Xhaka, who is out of contract in 2024, has been in top form this term and will be rewarded after the World Cup.

– Chelsea have an interest in RB Leipzig's Austria international midfielder Konrad Laimer, reports Bild. Laimer is out of contract at the end of this season and the Blues will look to sign him for free if he is not sold in January.

– Chelsea along with Arsenal are now also keen on pursuing Rennes winger Jeremy Doku, claims Fichajes. The 20-year-old is already being chased by Liverpool, Napoli and Juventus.

– Bild also claims Chelsea are monitoring versatile Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard.

– The Telegraph reports Thomas Tuchel is interested in the England managerial role should Gareth Southgate depart after this year's World Cup. The German has reportedly declined two Premier League jobs since leaving Chelsea last month.

Roberto Firmino was not supposed to be Liverpool's go-to man this season. If widespread reports were anything to go by, Firmino himself did not even envisage himself being at Anfield this campaign.

And yet here we are, midway through October, and no Liverpool player – not even the £350,000-a-week Mohamed Salah, despite his record-breaking six-minute hat-trick against Rangers – has played a part in more goals in all competitions this season than Firmino's eight.

Far from being the odd man out following the arrivals of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez this year, Firmino has regularly stepped up for the Reds this season and is surely in contention to start Sunday's Premier League showdown against Manchester City.

Liverpool quite simply have to win at Anfield, where Firmino will come face-to-face with Europe's hottest striker in Erling Haaland, a player boasting 20 goals – six more than anyone else in Europe's top-five leagues – from his 13 appearances for City and feeling refreshed after a midweek rest. 

Ahead of the meeting between the Premier League's two most dominant forces over the past four seasons, Stats Perform looks at Firmino's figures in more detail and just why he may hold the key to Liverpool getting the better of the champions.

KLOPP'S FAITH PAYS OFF

Amid all the noise surrounding Firmino's future heading into the 2022-23 campaign, with Juventus said to be in advanced talks to sign him, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp branded the forward "the heart and soul" of the team.

No wonder the German thinks so highly of the 31-year-old, with no Liverpool player playing more games (332), featuring for more minutes (23,899) or registering more assists (70) during Klopp's seven years in charge.

The arrivals of Diaz and Nunez, plus the impressive form of Diogo Jota, looked as though it would curtail Firmino's playing time, but he started three of Liverpool's opening four matches of the campaign, including the Community Shield win over City.

Firmino failed to register a single goal or assist in any of those matches, yet he retained the faith of Klopp – albeit helped by Jota being injured and Nunez suspended – and truly kick-started his campaign in the 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth at the end of August.

In that game, a joint-record winning margin for a side in Premier League history, Firmino became the first Liverpool player to be directly involved in four goals in the first half of a match in the competition en route to scoring two and assisting three. If a reminder was needed of Firmino's qualities, this was very much it.

An important equaliser followed in Liverpool's next match, a late 2-1 win over Newcastle United; two goals to drag Liverpool back from two goals down in a 3-3 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion; another equaliser, this time in defeat to Arsenal; and then another two-goal and an assist showing in the 7-1 midweek Champions League rout of Rangers.

Those 12 goals and assists in all competitions is level with Salah's tally for the season, and double that of next-best Diaz, who has started three games more than the Brazil international. Per minute, no Liverpool player is performing better this season in an attacking sense.

FIRMINO THE FOCAL POINT

Perhaps most remarkable of all as focus turns to Liverpool's meeting with City, Firmino is only one goal short of Haaland's tally for October (five goals compared to six). Across clubs from Europe's top-five leagues, when taking all competitions into account, Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder is the only other player with five or more goals this month.

Firmino's five goals have come from an expected goals (xG) value of 1.43, incidentally, compared to six from an xG of 3.03 for Haaland – a difference of 3.57 and 2.97 respectively, suggesting the quality of Firmino's chances have been lower than those teed up for Haaland.

That is not to say Firmino is in the same league as Haaland right now – who is? – but on a personal level this is by some way his best start to a campaign for Liverpool. His eight goals after 11 games is at least two more than he has managed in his previous seven seasons at Anfield, while only in 2019-20 has he had more assists than his four this term.

But exactly why is that? Playing against a Bournemouth side unable to defend any balls into the box has admittedly skewed the figures somewhat, though it is clear to see that Firmino's game has also changed this season compared to last.

Just under 11 per cent of his touches of the ball in the Premier League this season have come within the width of the goal inside the penalty area, which is an increase on a figure of six per cent last time out. It was further back last season, and more towards the right, that he more occasionally touched the ball.

Indeed, all eight of his goals this season have come from that central zone inside the box – one via his head, three with his left foot and four with his right. 

Another interesting aspect of Firmino's game this season has been his movement, or more specifically his off-the-ball runs into the penalty area. He has made 89 of them in the Premier League in his 468 minutes on the field, which is the most per 90 minutes (17.1) of any player, followed by Haaland (14.1).

That may well be a tactic Liverpool will aim to take full advantage of against City, a side in which Firmino has scored or assisted against seven times in 14 top-flight appearances – only versus Arsenal (13 combined) does he have a better record against among top-five clubs.

So while plenty of the build-up to Sunday's showdown will – justifiably – be centred around Haaland and his remarkable scoring run, Liverpool will have born-again Bobby to call upon in a game they simply must win if they are to keep alive any hopes of challenging for the title.

Toni Kroos has called for a full apology from UEFA for the chaos that occurred outside the Stade de France before the Champions League final.

European football's governing body has already said sorry for what it acknowledged as "frightening and distressing events" that preceded the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

Madrid midfielder Kroos wants there to be acknowledgement of mistakes made in the hours leading up to the May 28 match in Paris.

Kick-off was twice delayed due to what UEFA initially described as "security reasons" outside the Stade de France due to crowd congestion.

Liverpool fans complained of heavy-handed policing outside the stadium, with video footage showing tear gas being used on supporters, with Kroos saying his wife, Jessica, and their children were among those held at the entrance.

UEFA blamed ticketless fans trying to force entry and supporters using fake tickets, but it later announced an investigation seeking "to establish a full picture and timeline of what occurred during the day".

Kroos has answered 90 questions for a special edition of a newspaper designed to raise funds for the Toni Kroos Foundation.

Among them, Kicker's Jorg Jakob asked Kroos: "Should UEFA apologise to the fans for what happened in the Paris final?"

Five-time Champions League winner Kroos said, quoted in AS: "I don't know if the investigations have already been closed, but I do think it's time for them to apologise.

"My wife spent two hours at the gates of the stadium with the children. Her feeling is that there was no aggressiveness on the part of the fans of the two clubs.

"What's more: they were very considerate, because there were many children in the crowd.

"Shortly before taking the field, I received a message on my mobile that reassured me: everyone had entered the stadium without any problems. The question only deserves a yes."

Madrid went on to lift the trophy by defeating Liverpool 1-0 after the match started 36 minutes late.

The independent review panel investigating the final chaos is due to publish its full findings by November 2022, UEFA has said.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed Wednesday's 7-1 Champions League win away to Rangers has completely changed the mood within the group ahead of Sunday's clash with Manchester City.

The Reds have endured a difficult start to the 2022-23 season, particularly in the Premier League, where they are 10th with 10 points from eight games. Klopp's side also lost their opening Champions League game with a poor 4-1 loss away to Napoli, compounding their issues.

Wednesday's emphatic win in Glasgow, which included a record-breaking Mohamed Salah hat-trick within six minutes and 12 seconds, came after losing 3-2 to Arsenal.

Klopp argued the win had made the mood "completely different" and even joked about getting drunk amid the celebrations.

"It changed the mood, definitely," Klopp told reporters. "It is completely different. We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one.

"It changes the mood completely and that's good, but we all know who we are welcoming on Sunday and this will be a different game. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we've got tonight than any other."

Klopp utilised Salah off the bench against Rangers, coming on in the 68th minute, along with Diogo Jota, who was a 73rd-minute substitute before providing the assists for all three of the Egyptian's goals.

Andy Robertson returned from a knee injury to make his first appearance since Napoli loss in early September as a 67th-minute substitute as well.

Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson were among those brought off, although Klopp declined to give much away when asked if the changes were in preparation for City.

"The changes tonight were because we could do it, but Diogo Jota didn't start because I got a call this morning that he feels a little bit his muscle," the German said.

"He could play but he should not play for too long, so it was my decision to decide do I start him for 30 minutes or do we bring him [on] for 20? So that was obviously the right thing to do.

"Hendo played a lot, Darwin now played a lot after not playing that much and you have all of these kind of things in your mind when you do the changes.

"Actually, the first 11 was really good but the changes made gave us the next step with us and that was very, very pleasing. It was good, but that’s it and now we recover and prepare for the next game."

On taking on City, who are second in the Premier League, he added: "We don’t have to make a big thing of it, but the best football team in the world right now is coming to Anfield on Sunday.

"We will see what we can do, but it's not now that we are with a big mouth and telling them come and we are waiting. Not at all. It was for us tonight, for different reasons, incredibly important. Yes, 7-1 is a freak result, we know that."

Mohamed Salah made a piece of Champions League history with his quickfire hat-trick in Liverpool's 7-1 thrashing of Rangers on Wednesday, scoring the fastest ever treble in the competition.

Just six minutes and 12 seconds separated Salah's first and third goals in Liverpool's comeback win, the shortest timeframe ever recorded in the Champions League.

Salah's hat-trick saw him eclipse the efforts of former Bayern Munich hero Robert Lewandowski, who has scored two of the five fastest trebles in Champions League history.

Lewandowski required 11 minutes and seven seconds to hit a treble against Red Star Belgrade in November 2019, an achievement he bettered against Salzburg in March this year, when he scored three times in 10 minutes and 22 seconds.

Other than Salah, only Bafetimbi Gomis and Mike Newell have scored a hat-trick in quicker time than Lewandowski, while Cristiano Ronaldo sits just outside the top five after managing an 11-minute treble against Malmo for Real Madrid in 2015.

Salah scored his hat-trick over two minutes faster than previous record holder Gomis, who took eight minutes and 45 seconds to do so against Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.

Salah brought up his treble with a trademark strike, latching onto Diogo Jota's pass before cutting in from the right wing and bending a fine finish into the top-left corner.

Jota assisted all three of Salah's goals as Liverpool returned to form in emphatic fashion, which represents the first time a player has assisted a team-mate's Champions League treble since March 2012, when Franck Ribery teed up Mario Gomez's strikes for Bayern against Basel

Meanwhile, Salah has now scored 38 Champions League goals for Liverpool, the most managed by any player for an English club in the competition.

The Egypt talisman had previously trailed former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, who each hit 36 goals for their respective clubs in the competition.

Jurgen Klopp hailed a "special" performance from record-breaking Mohamed Salah as Liverpool roared to a sensational 7-1 Champions League win over Rangers on Wednesday.

Salah came off the substitutes' bench to fire home a hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds – the fastest ever in Champions League history.

A Roberto Firmino brace and a fine strike from Darwin Nunez had earlier overturned Scott Arfield's opener for Rangers, while Harvey Elliott added a seventh after Salah's quick-fire treble.

The win means Liverpool need just a point from their final two Group A games against Ajax and Napoli to qualify for the knockout stages, and Klopp was delighted with his side's display.

"We had a really positive half-time talk. We wanted more in the second half. Clearly, it worked out," he told BT Sport.

"It was special, particularly Mo. It was very important how we adapted to the positions, to the line-up. Everyone who started tonight played really well. Fabio [Carvalho] and Harvey, really good.

"It's the best we could have asked for. I'm really pleased.

"I really think the first half prepared the second half. When we are on it, we can be a really good football team. We built on the good things from the first half, we kept them moving and obviously they had to change the centre-half.

"The goals we scored were exceptional. It's a night where things worked out for us. It changes the mood definitely, and that's good.

"We all know who is coming on Sunday [Manchester City]. That will be different, but it's better to go in with the feeling from tonight."

Rangers, meanwhile, were left to a rue a fourth consecutive defeat in this season's competition.

They sit rock bottom of Group A, three points adrift of Ajax, with boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst left to lament his side's inability to stem the Liverpool tide in the second half. 

"It was a very disappointing result. We played well first half and were in the game," he said.

"The second goal, we know their strength. When you lose the ball in the middle of the pitch they are so fast on transition. We got caught a couple of times.

"We conceded too many easy goals. It went pretty quickly after that. We tried to push, but after the 3-1 you could see we were struggling. They upped the tempo and we weren't accurate in our passing."

Mohamed Salah scored the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history as Liverpool thumped Rangers 7-1 to put one foot in the last 16.

It started badly for Jurgen Klopp's side at Ibrox when Scott Arfield scored his first Champions League goal with a crisp finish past Alisson from outside the penalty area.

Liverpool pulled level soon after, though, when Firmino headed home a corner from close range, before the Brazilian and Darwin Nunez put the Reds 3-1 up. 

That set the stage for Salah to come off the substitutes' bench and complete a hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds to leave Liverpool, who added a seventh late on through Harvey Elliott, needing just a point from their final two games against Ajax and Napoli to progress to the knockout stages.

Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney believes the unity that has characterised the Gunners' flying start to the new season has been years in the making under Mikel Arteta.    

Sunday's thrilling 3-2 win over Liverpool at Emirates Stadium ensured Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League, where they lead Manchester City by a solitary point after nine games.

The Gunners have won eight of their opening nine games in a top-flight campaign for just the fourth time in their history, having also done so in the 1947-48, 2004-05 and 2007-08 seasons.

Meanwhile, the last time Arsenal led the Premier League at a later stage of the season was on December 10, 2016, when they did so after 15 games. 

Arsenal's form represents quite the turnaround for Arteta, who has come under fire at various points during his three-year stint at the club, but Tierney believes recent campaigns laid the foundations for their current run.

Asked about the atmosphere around the club, Tierney told Arsenal's website: "I'd say it's the best since I've been here and I think that's a credit to all the fans, and the players and the staff. 

"It just feels like it has clicked – everybody has come together. You hear reactions after we concede goals, you very rarely hear that in football. 

"Our fans ended up drowning out the Liverpool fans after they scored, just to try and cheer us on, go again and try and get another goal. I think you need that.

"It's been building, even last season you could see it's been getting better and better between the players, the staff and the fans, and this season it's all just come together and we're one club, one unit."

Arsenal's victory over Liverpool – their eighth successive home league win – put them 14 points clear of last season's runners-up in the early-season standings, but Tierney is refusing to set any targets for his side. 

"It's only been nine games and you can't say anyone is anything after nine games," the Scotland international added. "If you look at last year, we were down in the table and we climbed our way up, so there's a long way to go and there's no point in even thinking like that.

"You want to stay [at the top] of course. I've got a bit of experience at Celtic when we were expected to be at the top and stay on the top as well, so it is familiar in that way for me that the pressure is on you to stay there. 

"The other teams are chasing you, and we want to keep that going as long as we can. Progress is the main thing. We've progressed every year, so we want to keep progressing well. 

"You just want to finish up as high as possible, and we know what we want and we'll keep working towards it."

Jurgen Klopp sarcastically described Dietmar Hamann as "a fantastic source" after the former Liverpool player suggested the club's poor form may lead to a change of manager.

Liverpool head into Wednesday's Champions League group game at Rangers with just four wins to their name from 11 matches this season in all competitions.

Sunday's 3-2 loss to Arsenal leaves Liverpool with 10 Premier League points this term, with that their lowest tally after eight games since the 2012-13 campaign (nine points).

And speaking on Tuesday, Hamann said Liverpool chiefs may soon have to discuss Klopp's future at Anfield after seven years in the job for his German compatriot.

Klopp did not take kindly when asked for a response to Hamann's comments during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Rangers match.

"Who said that? Didi Hamann? Oh great. A fantastic source, well respected everywhere," Klopp said.

"[Being a former Liverpool player] does not give you the right to say what you want, especially when you have no idea.

"I actually think Didi Hamann does not deserve that you use his phrase to ask a question. Do me a favour and ask your own question."

Liverpool have won back-to-back matches in the Champions League, including a 2-0 win over Rangers last week, since going down 4-1 to Napoli in their Group A opener.

That loss to Napoli came in their most recent away match in the competition, though not since September 2019 have they lost successive games on their travels on the continent.

Klopp's mood was not improved after it was confirmed that Luis Diaz will miss the next two months, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip are out for a fortnight.

But the Liverpool manager, whose second-place side sit three points behind Napoli and three ahead of Ajax, insists he is up for the challenge of turning things around.

"If you sleep on a problem, sometimes you realise life goes on. I just stood there at Arsenal and we had lost the game. I knew already that we had three big injuries," he said.

"This is a tough situation but it also a challenge. We always face challenges but we go for it.

"I am sorry to all our people that after last season we go again and it's not the case that we are competing for everything.

"I cannot promise that we will fly [against Rangers] but we will fight, definitely, until someone tells us the fight is over. 

"It hasn't got easier since Sunday because of the injuries but the team I saw in training I liked a lot. So let's give it a go."