Jurgen Klopp finished second behind Mikel Arteta in what could be his last visit to Arsenal.
Goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard saw Liverpool lose 3-1 in north London, the Premier League leaders’ first game since September, their first defeat at home. Martinelli scored the decisive goal after Virgil van Dijk and Alisson overlooked defensive errors, while Gabriel’s own goal temporarily drew the north Londoners level.
The Gunners’ reward will be to temporarily move back within two points of the current leaders. Daily Star Sport takes a look at some of the decisions that had the biggest impact on Klopp & Co’s downfall.
Had it not been for the tragic death of Conor Bradley’s father, the 20-year-old could have kept his place with Klopp on the trip to north London. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold was deemed to be good enough to regain the right-back position, which worked to Arsenal’s advantage.
With Bradley out of contention after recent standout performances against Chelsea and Bournemouth, ‘TAA’ was the best option at right-back. However, it is also true that Alexander-Arnold (not for the first time recently) has sometimes exposed his weaknesses by taking possession too easily.
Bukayo Saka has beaten Kai Havertz with a goal after making a ‘terrible mistake’ against Liverpool. Klopp, aware that the England international could be used by the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz, could have tweaked his midfield to give Alexander-Arnold more help. But his starting back three in the engine room went wild down the left side of the pitch to attack Arsenal’s reputation.
Given Liverpool’s midfield frailties, Ryan Gravenberch had his worst performance for the club at the Emirates. With Curtis Jones and Alexis McAllister in the mix, Klopp could, in his view, operate as a more professional midfielder.
