“It’s unfortunate that he won’t be available to play against Arsenal next week; we lost him to injury against Manchester United.” Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp reveals Liverpool has just suffered an early injury blow ahead of the Arsenal clash
Arsenal news as Liverpool are without a number of key players ahead of next weekend’s long-awaited clash
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table after last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 on Sunday.
Goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz in the second half continued the Gunners’ impressive recent form. Manchester City’s draw with Crystal Palace means the north Londoners are now five points ahead of the champions.
Liverpool’s poor performance against Manchester United, which ended 0-0 at Anfield, meant Arsenal ended the week at the top of the table. Jurgen Klopp’s men were predicted to crush their rivals, but the Red Devils defended well and silenced Mohamed Salah.
This weekend’s result led many to predict that the Gunners would be Man City’s only challenger for the Premier League title in the second half of the season. But next weekend on Merseyside will be a big test for Arteta’s men.
Arsenal have not won at Anfield since 2012 and last year’s 2-2 draw was one of the games that cost them the title in April. The Christmas classic will be tasty, but Klopp and Liverpool have already suffered an early setback.
Ryan Gravenberch was sent off in the 61st minute at Anfield. “We will see. I was told straight after the game that it got worse during the game, so that means it was not a ‘bum’,” Klopp said.
“It felt a little bit and it was not visible right away. We hoped it would go away, but it didn’t. It was a really intense fight with the ball that ended with a collision on the 18-meter line.
“I hope it’s not too serious, but we have three games in the next 10 days, so I don’t know if he will participate in one of them or not. We’ll see, we have to do an examination.”
Gravenberch joined Alexis Mac Allister and Thiago out of the Reds’ match, leaving Liverpool incredibly outnumbered ahead of Sunday’s game. Klopp continued, “It’s a difficult period. On Wednesday we play West Ham, who are flying and playing very well at the moment, then we have Arsenal and Burnley. It’s terrible.
“We have to make sure we get enough points in this period, but then there is a lot of football to be played. It’s important that we get through this with as many players as possible.”
