Pep Lijnders claims Premier League rival tried to poach him from Liverpool

'This was the biggest compliment I ever got from somebody'

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has revealed that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta tried to poach him away from Jurgen Klopp and convince him to move to Arsenal. Arteta was named Gunners boss in 2019 after leaving his role as assistant manager at Manchester City, where he worked under Pep Guardiola. When the 40-year-old - who replaced countryman Unai Emery at the Emirates Stadium - was assembling his backroom team, he attempted to convince Lijnders, whom he had met while the pair were completing their coaching badges together on a UEFA course, to join Arsenal. https://twitter.com/AnfieldWatch/status/1551659044762427392 However, Lijnders rejected the offer and chose to remain at Anfield, where he has gone on to play a vital role in the Reds' success in recent years. Lijnders joined Liverpool in 2014 under former manager Brendan Rodgers. Prior to his move to Merseyside, he spent eight years working for FC Porto. After initially being employed as a first-team coach, he was later promoted after Klopp's previous assistant Zeljko Buvac left the club. Lijnders, alongside Peter Krawietz, was named as the German's assistant manager. The Dutchman left the reds in January 2018 after agreeing to become NEC Nijmegen's new manager. However, his return to his homeland failed to work out as he was sacked just six months later after failing to lead the club to the Eredivisie.