Liverpool won their 20th league title by thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 on Sunday, April 27. As a result, Arne Slot has won the elusive title in his first season as a manager in England.
With Manchester City winning four straight league titles prior to that, English football was running the risk of getting monopolized by Pep Guardiola’s men.
The turnaround in Liverpool’s fortunes started happening with Jurgen Klopp’s arrival at the club in 2015.
Klopp won a Premier League and a UEFA Champions League title with the Reds. He also competed closely with Manchester City repeatedly, reaching two more Champions League finals, losing to Real Madrid on both occasions.
With their recent success under Slot, one is inclined to draw parallels between Liverpool from 2019 to 2025 with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal from 1998 to 2004.
During that time period, which was also Wenger’s initial phase at the Gunners’ helm, Arsenal won three Premier League titles and then reached the Champions League final in 2006.
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Liverpool 2019-2025 or Arsenal 1998-2004, which is a better team
Liverpool have won two Premier League titles and a UCL during said period. Arsenal therefore have an extra league title, but no Champions League titles during their six-year period.
However, winning the Premier League title without losing a single match in the 2003/04 season catapulted Wenger’s men to a special sort of fame, as they were named “The Invincibles.”
They drew 12 out of their 38 matches that season and finished with 90 points. In comparison, Liverpool have won 25 of their 34 matches so far and should be able to exceed 90 points this season.
Defensively, Arsenal were really good in the period from 1998 to 2004, with fine players like Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Kolo Toure and Lauren playing for them.
In comparison, Liverpool have a towering centre-back like Virgil van Dijk playing for them, with brilliant full-backs like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson contributing significantly.
It is pretty even between the two teams as far as the defence is concerned.
Arsenal probably wins the midfield battle, with Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg being the mainstays of their four-man midfield.
Liverpool have had players like Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum playing for them in the said period, who have been replaced by the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch a year ago.
As solid as Liverpool’s midfield is, Arsenal’s during the aforementioned period was probably better.
Then, there is the attack, which sees the titanic battle between the two Premier League legends: Thierry Henry for Arsenal and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool.
Henry and Salah have 228 and 244 goals for Arsenal and Liverpool, respectively, and it is very hard to choose between the two.
Liverpool have also had a few key contributors like Sadio Mane, who scored 120 goals for them, and Roberto Firmino, who scored 111.
However, Dennis Bergkamp, who was Henry’s partner-in-crime, was in a class of his own. The Dutchman scored 120 times for the Gunners and registered numerous assists.
Arsenal’s playing style was also slicker than Liverpool’s energetic high-pressing football with long crosses and passes from the full-backs.
With fantastic ballplayers like Bergkamp, Henry, Pires and Ljungberg, the Gunners were in a different league altogether, as far as their aesthetic appeal was concerned.
Liverpool may have been almost as successful in recent times, but might not be able to match Wenger’s Arsenal from 1998 to 2004 in terms of their appeal to a football neutral.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PA Images
Recording Date: 12.08.2022