A fantastic Liverpool performance against Arsenal has, in the eyes of the mainstream media become a story about Arsenal rather than one about the Mighty Reds. Not on The Anfield Wrap. Here we wax lyrical about Jurgen Klopp’s side and their dominance over their North London opponents in all areas of the pitch.
The front three get their deserved praise but the back line and midfield won their battles. It was a team performance from the side and one which announced themselves as genuine contenders for this season’s title.
Joining Neil Atkinson are Rob Gutmann, Philippa Smallwood and Dan Morgan to talk about the outstanding display of the season so far.
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Direct: The Anfield Wrap – Rampant Liverpool Dismantle Wenger’s Sorry Arsenal
I think Neil has absolutely hit the nail on the head with the Mignolet/Karius shout.
I’ve been impressed with Mignolet for the last 6-12 months but he does seem to thrive on the pressure of having someone on his shoulder ready to overtake him. Once I’d thought about it a bit, I can see the logic of Klopp’s decision (if that is the reason). Mignolet quietly had a shite game at home to Hoffenheim – let two in and had at least one absolute clanger where he drops the ball on his own penalty spot under no pressure whatsoever.
I think the idea is to give Mignolet a quiet push in the back, as well as making sure Karius and Ward know the door is still open, if they perform. In a perverse way Arsenal is the perfect game to do it. Mignolet has conceded 7 in the last 3 vs Arsenal and it tends to turn into a bit of a mad, free-scoring game. If Klopp thinks Arsene’s going three at the back and it’s all going to be a bit mad, then why not take the keeper gamble now, give Karius the chance and steer into the skid?
Agreed 100%. There is definitely the worry that Mignolet was on a downwards trajectory again, which we’ve seen happen in the past following the bump in performance that he gets after being dropped. We’ll see what happens in the long run but it looked like good management to me as well.
I also think that the coaching team haven’t made a decision on who’s playing in the CL yet… There was a moment in the post-match presser where Klopp was asked about this and it seemed to me all three ‘keepers are still an option. Definitely manages all three in one move, as Neil said. Was also interesting how he said there is a No. 1 (Mignolet) but there is no No. 2 or 3, which I understood to mean that Ward and Karius are in a battle of their own. Still not 100% convinced that both are staying at the club for the season after the window closes though….
While I think that general line of reasoning is a factor, in that Klopp knows that putting the pressure on Mingolet only seems to make him play better, so it is not a risk dropping him. I reckon there are two major factors behind Klopp’s thinking: the first is loyalty to Karius whom he sweet talked from his old club when he was on a stellar trajectory in Germany, and the second, more important reason (the reason he signed him in the first place), is the tactical requirement when playing teams that can press high to have a keeper who is comfortable playing out from the back, as well as keeping a very high line when we have the ball to allow us to press high. Some of our best performances last season (e.g. Hull at home) came with Karius in goals, even though he was a nervous reck at times who couldn’t catch the ball to save himself.
Probably part of the problem with his overly casual play out of the back was that he knew that was one of the reasons he was in the team so overdid it. He still seems to have a way to go to get back to the supremely confident mindset he had in Germany, but I thought it was a pretty encouraging display all told.
I agree with all this, and I had considered your last point as well – it happens to me often (in other areas of life obviously) so it’s easy to imagine that’s what was going on with him.
About Klopp’s loyalty to Karius: I was a little taken aback with how defensive Klopp got in the post-match press conference when a journalist jokingly said that he didn’t need a ‘keeper at all because he had nothing to do all game, and Klopp’s response was that he had a lot to do and did some very good things (I’m paraphrasing). I think the loyalty is there because he genuinely sees him as a great ‘keeper and cares about him and his development, and maybe feels a little guilty for how things transpired last year. I really wish supporters would give him the time and space to do his thing so he can get back his confidence.