Javier Manquillo: Playing for Liverpool and Alongside Steven Gerrard 'is a Dream Come True'

Javier Manquillo has said he is living the dream since his summer move from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool, having previously been in negotiations with Arsenal.

The Spanish right-back was very close to joining the Gunners earlier in the summer. But after the north London club failed to agree terms with the La Liga champions over his signing, Manquillo complete a loan move to Anfield for the next two seasons.

"When the Liverpool chance arrived, my agents did the negotiating and then it was up to me to make a decision. Both Atletico and I were happy to make the agreement and the rest is history," Manquillo told Mundo Deportivo.

"Liverpool are a massive club, one of the biggest around Europe, and everything is going extremely well here. The first few weeks I've been over here really have been phenomenal. I have to take it little by little but I'm here to work and I'm very happy to be a Liverpool player."

And Manquillo hasn't hidden his admiration for his new captain, Steven Gerrard.

"The first time I watched Gerrard play I was only a child. Now I play in the same team with him. He's a truly great player and it's a dream come true to share the field with him," the Spaniard said.

After winning La Liga at Atletico Madrid last season, he hopes to replicate the same fortune at Liverpool.

"Atletico and Liverpool are two massive clubs that always compete for everything," he said.

"There isn't much difference between the two teams. Both of them treat you great and I'm as happy to have been at Atletico as I am at Liverpool."

When asked about the differences between the the two managers, Atletico's Diego Simeone and Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, he said: "Brendan and Diego are both brilliant managers - the only difference is the football we play."

"I get on very well with the manager [Rodgers] here. He helps us with everything he can, which is great. He also speaks Spanish fluently too, so it's really easy for us to communicate."