If Liverpool fail to win the 2023/24 Premier League title, fans will be wondering what will happen when the Reds travel to the Emirates Stadium. Although Arsenal were the better team, the match ended in a draw when two key players combined to make tragic mistakes. Of course, these things happen and have happened in the past.
In March 2019, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk were jointly responsible for Ryan’s goal for Fulham. It was similar to Gabriel Martinelli’s mistake that gave the Gunners the lead last weekend. But as Jurgen Klopp admitted after the game, that was far from Liverpool’s only problem against Arsenal. “We didn’t play enough football and it was difficult to find the right triangle, so we had to learn from each other,” he said (via Liverpool Echo).
In fact, Gabriel Magallanes’ long pass that led to the most important goal came from Red’s right flank. Although it has become easier than in the past, it is no wonder that this part of the Red team has not been able to function properly.
This was Ryan Gravenberch’s fourth start at right-back for Liverpool, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley making their first starts at right-back in previous games. Cody Gakpo is a rare sight for this team as this game marks his third start for the Reds.
We don’t know the physical characteristics of the players or how they train in the week before the matches, but we can wonder why Klopp chose the right team. Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott have started more times than Gakpo in Mohamed Salah’s main position, with the latter three more used to playing in right midfield.
Gakpo was the oddest choice because he had very little experience in the position. According to Transfermarkt, he has made 20 starts in right field in his career, including as a teenager. For the first team, the number is only 13. In such a big game, Gakpo was asked to make a vital contribution in an unfamiliar position and managed only one shot and failed to create a chance.
But that will be the theme during the Dutchman’s time at Liverpool. Gakpo started twice at right midfield last season and three times at left midfield this season. However, he had plenty of opportunities as a centre-forward and that’s where he was at his best (not least in the 7-0 drubbing of Manchester United, where he scored the first goal and added the third.
It was a great win). completely).Interestingly, the Netherlands international has only played three times at left-back, where he often thrived at PSV Eindhoven. Klopp, hit by an injury crisis, was expected to bring him in immediately, but the manager has almost completely resisted a move that has seemed obvious until now.
