Dani Ceballos has admitted to being left in awe of Liverpool's high-pressing prowess following Arsenal's suffocating 3-1 defeat at Anfield in August.
Mohamed Salah scored twice and Joel Matip once when the Gunners, previously unbeaten, travelled to Merseyside for their third match of the new Premier League season.
Spain international Ceballos lasted only an hour but the European champions made a big impression on the midfielder, who is on loan at Arsenal from Real Madrid.
"I've never seen anything like what I saw at Anfield," Ceballos told the Guardian .
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"I haven't seen a team that plays better, that presses like them, the way the fans carry them along.
“They take the air from you. You spend so much time defending and when you want to do something with the ball, when you want to breathe, they're back on top of you. They're very well-drilled."
Ceballos believes Arsenal are not so far behind Liverpool, in terms of development, identifying their front three as the key to future success .
The player is confident that manager Unai Emery can do the same job in north London that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has done on Merseyside, but knows it's a work in progress.
“We can’t compare it at the moment,” he continued. “We’re working on some similar things, but Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool in 2015. Unai came last season.
“Arsenal finished a point short of the Champions League and a small step from winning the Europa League; his arrival will be positive. In a few years Arsenal will be in the top 10 teams globally, competing for everything.”
Ceballos cited Emery’s faith in him as inspiring his good start to the season for the Gunners.
He knows he has work to do on his game, but has enjoyed the challenge of adapting to life in a league he says is the best around.
“I have a big margin for improvement; with experience I can. Unai clearly has faith in me: he’s the one who called and told me to come to Arsenal, because I’d have a prominent role and would like his idea of playing.
“It’s the league with the highest standard, the biggest demands. I have to adapt,” he concluded.