Kevin de Bruyne Praises Arsenal's Strong Start This Season Under Mikel Arteta, And Also Expects Liverpool To Be Back At Their Best.

Manchester City playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, has said that he is not surprised to see Mikel Arteta do well as Arsenal’s manager following their success this season.

The Gunners are enjoying a sensational start to the Premier League season, sitting top of the table with eight wins from their first nine games. Their only defeat so far was a 3-1 loss against Man United at Old Trafford in September.

De Bruyne has further labelled them as genuine title challengers who are playing exceptional football at the moment, as they sit one point ahead of last season champions City.

Arteta was previously an assistant coach at City under Pep Guardiola and De Bruyne, having watched his progress in the three years at the Etihad, expected Arteta to do well as a managerl when he left the Manchester club to take up the job with the Gunners three years ago.

When asked if he is surprised to see Arsenal thrive under Arteta, De Bruyne told Sky Sports: “No, not really. Obviously, I see a lot of similarities with the way we play, but that’s always been his style.

“When he stopped playing and he had the opportunity to come here I think it was a good learning school and obviously we had great years.

“I saw an evolution from the beginning of Mikel to after three years when he left.

“At the beginning, he was adapting but then he was getting more and more into his role. We also saw he had a lot of ambition and when an opportunity came he took that.

“It’s nice to see that he got the time from Arsenal. I’m happy for him that it’s going well. They’re playing really, really, really good football. Hopefully, they will just not be good enough for us.”

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Meanwhile, the top two teams in the table are both in action on Sunday with Arsenal looking to make it seven wins on the spin in all competitions when they visit Leeds United, while City go to Liverpool in a super fixture of the weekend.

Kevin de Bruyne also says he expects Liverpool to be back at their best in the game at Anfield.

The Reds have been City’s chief title rival in recent seasons but have made a slow start to the current season.

Jurgen Klopp's men have won just two of their eight Premier League games this season and sit 10th in the table,  languishing 13 points behind defending champions City, though showed how ruthless they can be in front of goal with a 7-1 demolition of Rangers in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

"I expect them to be the best Liverpool possible," said De Bruyne. 

"Obviously they’ve lost some points but they are still Liverpool and I expect them to be good, that’s the only way I see it.

"I like big games, I like good atmospheres. It’s a game like any other but obviously it’s always hard playing away at a top-six team.

"I think in the last few years we’ve done well there, even last year if we didn’t win. I think it’s probably going to be a good game again if we take our chances."

City always had a poor record at Anfield until recently. Their 4-1 success there in February 2021 was only their second at the stadium since 1981, with the other being in 2003. The sides played out a pulsating 2-2 draw when they played at Anfield last season.