Jurgen Klopp may have been motivated by more than Liverpool’s defensive concerns in his decision to remove Mo Salah from the pitch after 69 minutes had elapsed.
The German told reporters after the 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium (via Metro): “I thought we could… so we had to defend at a high level again and tried to get Hendo on that side there. Mo did an incredible workload, really, really big, he did a real shift.
“Sometimes it’s very intense and that’s why we thought we could do it with Hendo.
“We still wanted to win, even when we took off a striker.”
However, the Egyptian’s struggles to make an impact within the opposition half, particularly in the 18-yard box, as shown by a tweet graphic from @Squawka, shows there may be an ulterior motive behind the substitution. .
Fewest touches by Mohamed Salah inside the opponent’s box in a PL match since joining Liverpool:
◉ 1 v Arsenal (69 min, 2022) ◎ 1 v Brighton (64 min, 2020) ◎ 1 v Chelsea (62 min, 2021)
Silenced. ???? pic.twitter.com/azbbbcGUKr
— Squawka (@Squawka) October 10, 2022
In his day, there is no doubt that the former Roma player is the best attacker in world football, although his current performances (very similar to those of several of his world-class teammates) are a far cry from his 2021 form. /22.
READ MORE: The 10 games that Luis Díaz will miss with Liverpool due to a knee injury
What to do with the Egyptian king?
We have the mindset that an injury-forced break from football and the constant criticism surrounding Liverpool Football Club would not necessarily be a bad thing for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Of course, we wouldn’t want to see the 30-year-old hurt, though it’s hard to see how else Jurgen Klopp can manage to get the best out of the most trusted of lieutenants without knocking them out of the line of fire.
It would be risky, to say the least, to see the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Mo Salah denied a place in the first XI, although perhaps the solution lies in giving younger stars opportunities to inject something that so much is needed. intensity again in our performances.
#Ep62 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Will Klopp Change Arsenal’s Formation? Núñez failing… and more!
