"It's not about who's not in" - Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool's performance against Arsenal not having anything to do with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane's absence
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has reflected on his team's disappointing goalless draw with Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday. The German tactician said that his team must look to do better without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who are away at the AFCON.
Salah and Mane are currently on international duty with Egypt and Senegal respectively at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The duo, who is not slated to return to action this month, have scored 33 goals this season. They were sorely missed by Liverpool at Anfield, as the Reds struggled to create goalscoring opportunities against Arsenal.
Klopp's side dominated possession against the Gunners, who were reduced to ten men in the 25th minute after Granit Xhaka was sent off. However, Liverpool were unable to breach a resilient Arsenal backline. However, Klopp has said that his team's performance had nothing to do with Salah or Mane's absence.
"Look, the situation is clear; they're not here; they're world-class players. Do we miss them? Yes, but I liked the start yesterday. And we had with Sadio and Mo (Mohamed Salah) before some struggles, which is not something I like, but some struggled against ten men when they were both on the pitch," said Klopp in a press conference.
"It's not about who's not in; it's about how can we do better with the team we played last night, for example. We started really well; we caused Arsenal a lot of problems."
Liverpool headed into their game against Arsenal on Thursday off an impressive 4-1 victory over Shrewsbury in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Merseyside club, though, managed just one shot on target despite enjoying 79% possession against the Gunners. It marked the first time Liverpool failed to score at home across competitions this season.
Arsenal are the first side to stop Liverpool scoring in a game at Anfield across all competitions this season.
And they did it with 10-men for 71 minutes. 💪 https://t.co/fjZxm4GtDm
Liverpool's poor form in recent weeks could derail their 2021-22 campaign
Liverpool have won just two of their last five games in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp's side were considered one of the main contenders for the league title this season.
However, they are currently sitting in third place in the points table, and are 11 points behind runaway league leaders Manchester City, who have played a game more.
Arsenal only conceded one shot on target in periods where they were down to 10 men against both Manchester City (31 mins) and Liverpool (66 mins)
😯 Arsenal only conceded one shot on target in periods where they were down to 10 men against both Manchester City (31 mins) and Liverpool (66 mins) https://t.co/D0G2JDv6Or
The 2019-20 Premier League winners won all six Champions League group games this season, and have progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-finals. However, in Salah and Mane's absence, the Reds have struggled for consistency, especially in the attacking third.
Klopp's side must find a way to strike form in the coming weeks without their two talismans to stand a chance of winning silverware this season.