Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has praised both Liverpool and Manchester City for being “exceptional teams” over the past five years.

He believes that Jurgen Klopp‘s team should be classed in the same category as his Gunners side of the mid-2000s, despite the fact they have been unable to match the achievements of City in the Premier League:

“I would say the team between 2002 and 2004 was certainly the most dominant in the league. We had very good teams, always. It’s like at the moment, you have City and Liverpool in the last five years being the dominant teams and are exceptional teams.”

“Liverpool won the championship only once but that doesn’t mean when they finished second they are a bad team. They are still a great team. When you lose a championship over 38 games by one point, you cannot say it is a failure. It is still a fantastic season for Liverpool. People always speak only when you win, but there are seasons when you don’t win where you have still played fantastic football.”

It’s certainly a fair assessment from Wenger but whether history will remember this Liverpool team as one of the greats will probably depend on them securing at least one or two more championships.

With Klopp set to stay at Anfield until 2026, that is very possible, although Pep Guardiola’s presence at City could make things a lot harder. The Spaniard’s current contract does expire at the end of the season but he has expressed his desire to extend his time in Manchester.

After two draws from their opening two fixtures this campaign, Liverpool have some work to do if they are to make sure they are in contention to win another Premier League title.