Arsene Wenger has hailed the job carried out by Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool during his three years at the club, describing last season's second-place finish as an "absolutely fantastic" achievement.

The Reds failed to push on from their near title miss last time out at the start of the current campaign, and it was not until mid-December until they eventually turned their fortunes around.

This was largely down to some tactical tinkering from Rodgers, who changed things around an reaped the rewards with an impressive run of form which only ended with a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United a fortnight ago.

Liverpool must beat Arsenal this afternoon if they are to realistically keep their top-four hopes alive, and ahead of the Emirates Stadium showdown, Wenger was quick to praise his opposite number.

"He has done very well," the Frenchman is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "I think he found a solution at the right time. They did well last season too, they scored over 100 goals in the Premier League, which is absolutely fantastic."

Arsenal head into today's match sitting six points clear of their opponents in third place.