Liverpool defender Jose Enrique labelled Arsenal star Santi Cazorla as “one of the best” ahead of the Premier League encounter between the two sides on Sunday.

Enrique moved to Newcastle United from Villarreal the season Cazorla arrived at El Madrigal, but the Reds defender has seen enough of Arsenal’s new signing from his La Liga days to know what he is capable of.

Spain have an endless list of quality midfielders but Enrique claims that the 27-year-old playmaker is among the finest around.

“Santi Cazorla is a great player and one of the best,” he told Liverpool’s official website.

“Arsenal are an amazing team. They have sold a few players like Robin van Persie this year, and the year before they sold Samir Nasri, but they bring in new players and still finish in the top four.”

The Reds have picked up a point from their opening two games of the season but Enrique isn’t panicking just yet. He feels a win against Arsene Wenger’s can change things very quickly.

“We have just one point in the league at the moment, but Real Madrid have started the same way – it doesn’t mean anything (yet),” he added.

“If we win it will be a positive message for everyone. Four points in three games, two of which were against Manchester City and Arsenal, is okay I think.”

Liverpool have tended to improve their level of perfomance for the big matches at Anfield and Enrique hopes they can carry on the trend against Arsenal on Sunday.

“I think we play better against these types of teams,” he explained. “We’ll play at Anfield, which is good for us, and if we play as we did against Manchester City we can beat them [Arsenal].

“We have a good squad. Some players have left and some have come in, and we have a very good squad.”