Will Arsenal or Liverpool be City’s main rivals post-Klopp?

Arsenal's Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday represents a battle for the present and the future. In an instant, Jürgen Klopp's decision to step down as Reds coach at the end of the season changed the dynamic of this and future campaigns.

This shock was partly due to Liverpool's current strength. Just when it looked like they had become Manchester City's main rivals again, Klopp announced he would be stepping down soon.

This weekend's match at the Emirates Stadium is a test of both the new durability of 'Liverpool 2.0' and Arsenal's chances of proving that last season's title challenge was not a one-off . And by positioning themselves now, one of these teams can establish themselves as the leading contender aiming to break Pep Guardiola's grip on a trophy he has won in five of the last six seasons.

Klopp was the only manager capable of breaking this monopoly. Can he do it one last time and prepare Liverpool for life without him? Or will Mikel Arteta continue to bolster his burgeoning reputation by transforming Arsenal into City's most credible threat in the years to come?

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On the face of it, Arsenal's need for victory on Sunday is more immediate. The Gunners are five points behind leaders Liverpool and level with City after playing a game more. A defeat would leave them facing a deficit that would significantly reduce their margin for error in the final 15 games of their league campaign. There is also a wider, more existential battle underway in the red half of north London as they look to demonstrate greater durability after failing to go the distance last season.

Arteta has regularly speculated on the points total that might be needed to win the league and his latest statement on the subject highlighted that “what will happen in direct matches” between rivals is “an important consequence of that number.

Arsenal lost the championship by five points last season and were beaten home and away by City. Their recent loss of form – one win in seven games in all competitions – highlighted a profligacy in front of goal that was only partially remedied in wins over Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, even accounting for the seven goals scored in of these two matches.

Victory this weekend would provide a major boost to this young team's self-confidence and bring them back close to Liverpool, a team facing their own questions over whether they are truly the real deal after surpassing all expectations so far. Both know that City usually do well from this point on and so no lead will be entirely comfortable, even if Liverpool win on Sunday.

It is perhaps the respective midfielders who offer the most interesting comparison between the two teams: Klopp rebuilt his team's engine room in record time, while Arsenal briefly made Declan Rice the most successful footballer most expensive in Great Britain by signing the England international from West Ham. United for £105m.

Liverpool were sabotaged by the moves of Jude Bellingham, Moisés Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, with the latter pair opting to join Chelsea. They allowed Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – among others – to leave and ultimately chose Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch to complement Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and the injured Thiago Alcantara . in midfield.

It was a stunning turnaround, but Klopp's alchemical skills came to the fore with Liverpool reinvigorated and once again crushing teams with their energy and guile, as Chelsea can attest recently after Wednesday's 4-1 defeat at Anfield. Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Jones have simply overwhelmed the Blues, and who could have imagined that after such an eventful summer in which Chelsea won their transfer battles?

On the other hand, Arteta largely achieved the goals he wanted. Arsenal failed with Douglas Luiz's move from Aston Villa in September 2022 and retain interest in a player now much harder to acquire since signing a new contract, but Rice was still their preferred option last summer . Kai Havertz was Arteta's choice to upgrade the No.8 position, a decision which has not been entirely justified by the German international's performances to date. Emile Smith Rowe earned just his second league start of the season in Tuesday's win at Nottingham Forest, with Leandro Trossard also playing there on occasion. Rice has also played as a number 8 and it is suspected that Thomas Partey's imminent return from injury could tempt Arteta into giving him that advanced role more often.

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Arteta would certainly have liked to emulate Klopp's speed of improvement in midfield. There are key decisions to be made and greater cohesion to be found. Arteta has yet to prove himself at the elite club occupied by Klopp and City boss Guardiola, even after starting the week by strongly refuting a report in Spain that he was tempted by the soon-to-be vacant Barcelona job. Perhaps lost among these denials was Arteta's somewhat evasive response to the question of whether he could ever manage another English club, something Klopp ruled out following the shock announcement of the last week.

“Today, no,” he said. “But I don't know. I've played for two big clubs in this country. I've played in different activities. I'm extremely young and I don't know what's going to happen.”

Against the backdrop of persistent speculation that Arteta would be the outstanding continuity candidate to replace Guardiola whenever he leaves City after spending three years on their coaching staff, the lack of specificity here might raise an eyebrow or two. Of course, at 41, Arteta is indeed a young manager, and although he has spent four years on the bench and five years as a player with Arsenal, he retains an affinity with City and Everton, where he first became known in the Premier League. 2005 to 2011.

Ironically, it would in theory be harder for Arteta to succeed Guardiola the more successful he is at Arsenal. Could he, for example, win the championship and then join City if Guardiola leaves in the summer of 2025 when, coincidentally, Arteta's current deal with Arsenal also ends? Arsenal's best hope of retaining Arteta in the long term is for him to fulfill his potential at the club – completing what he describes as “a beautiful journey” – but to do that he must take the Gunners past Liverpool by coherent manner. base.

Klopp insists he will not reconsider his decision to leave Liverpool under any circumstances and is therefore looking to win a second league title and give his successor the best platform on which to build. But big questions loom on the horizon.

Mohamed Salah, injured for Sunday's match, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk all have less than 18 months on their contracts. Al Ittihad are widely expected to return with a massive bid for Salah this summer, creating an immediate conundrum for Liverpool in their post-Klopp era: can they risk losing their talisman and iconic manager in the same summer , or does a fee higher than £150m for a 31-year-old give the new boss the firepower to reshape the team in his own image?

For now, Klopp is desperately trying to keep Liverpool in the present. With Guardiola firmly entrenched at City and about to enter a phase of the campaign where his team usually displays relentless consistency, Arsenal and Liverpool are vying for the position of main challengers to the reigning champions, now and beyond.