3 minute read
8/10/2022 | 08:05pm
Liverpool make the trip to north London this Sunday to take on Premier League high fliers Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that a confident performance against Rangers in the Champions League from midweek can translate into the match tomorrow.
The Reds have had a poor start to their domestic campaign with just 10 points on the board and currently 10th in the table, 11 points adrift from Mikel Arteta’s side and 13 behind overnight leaders Manchester City, so ensuring that the right players are deployed will be essential to closing that gap.
After losing Sadio Mane, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino in the summer, the Liverpool forward line has seen a lot of change. It remains to be seen if the attack has been weakened or improved, but Klopp still has a lot of experience in the final third with players who know exactly how to beat Arsenal.
One player who has been a talisman for Liverpool against the north Londoners is Diogo Jota, with the 25-year-old scoring eight goals in just 11 appearances against the Gunners.
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The £120k-per-week Portuguese dynamo, who has recently returned to action after suffering a hamstring injury, has scored in all four of his Premier League outings for Liverpool against Mikel Arteta’s side, all of which have resulted in wins for the Merseysiders.
Furthermore, Jota bagged two goals in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates last season, which led his team to glory as they won the competition a month later, proving that he is a game-changer time and again for his team.
Klopp is a huge admirer of the forward, lavished praise on the Liverpool star last season as he said: “Exceptional player, exceptional boy.
“He has the technical skills, he has the physical skills and he is very smart and can learn all the tactical stuff pretty quick. On top of that, he can play all three positions; in a 4-2-3-1 he could play as the 10. So, it is very helpful.”
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Speaking of Jota’s ability to play in many positions, Klopp changed his tactics and formation in midweek, going from his customary 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 against Rangers, and the change in shape was pinpointed as a huge contributor to Liverpool’s high-quality performance on the night.
As a result, the German could preserve the 4-4-2 this weekend against Arsenal, and making Jota the focal point in that centre-forward position could quite easily terrify the Gunners once again.
It is beyond doubt that Jota should be one of the first names on the team-sheet when Liverpool line up against Arteta’s in-form side, as he could give Liverpool one of their best chances to claim a result despite their troubling form in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old has yet to start a top-flight match this season; tomorrow seems to represent the perfect opportunity to unleash him from the off.
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