Former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness has labelled Jurgen Klopp's seventh-year struggle at clubs as a "complete coincidence" - insisting the Reds' problems stem from their ageing midfield.
Liverpool were edged out of a five-goal thriller by Arsenal on Sunday afternoon at the Emirates stadium as Gabriel Martinelli's strike after 57 seconds, followed by a brace from Bukayo Saka, condemned the Reds to a second defeat of the Premier League season, leaving Klopp's men sitting in 10th place, with just ten points from a possible 24.
Hoping to build on Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Rangers, the Reds boss persisted with a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 formation for the clash in north London as Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara lined up alongside one another in a double-pivot.
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While the duo performed adequately - after putting the wretched start behind them - they struggled to match their first-half performance after the interval, which led to Arteta's men dominating the middle of the park and ultimately outnumbering the Reds on the break in counter-attacking situations.
And with pundits quick to slam the Reds' stuttering early-season form and speculate as to why their below-par start to the campaign continues, Souness believes Klopp's side are in desperate need of midfield reinforcements if they want to replicate their recent trophy-sweeping success and are not the victims of the German's reoccurring seventh-year struggles.
"I don’t see the comparisons with Mainz and Dortmund being a seven-year thing," said Souness, while on talkSPORT. "I just think it’s a gigantic coincidence. If you’ve had success going down a certain road, do you all of a sudden change it? The things he was saying today are saying what he said one day one. It’s personnel. It’s not him. The manager isn’t faultless but I’m saying that seven-year thing is absolute tosh, it’s a complete coincidence."
"Where they’ve made a mistake, I said it early season, I think the midfield is screaming out for strengthening. You’ve got Thiago, at 31, Henderson 32, Milner 37, Fabinho 28 - which is the perfect age for where he plays - young players coming through, Keita for me isn’t good, that’s an obvious area that they need to strengthen and that comes down to the manager."
"What he’s got to do, I think he’s got to be adding to the midfield with the age group of the midfield, I think it’s screaming out for legs, he’s got young players there but it’s a big ask to come in to play a hard nine months dealing with the ups and downs of disappointments. As a Liverpool supporter, I’m looking at the squad at the start of the season, I’m seeing a midfield that’s in decline."
Liverpool have suffered an array of injuries in the engine room so far this campaign, with Arthur Melo the latest member of the Reds' squad to be sidelined. The Brazilian picked up a quad injury on Monday evening and, with surgery required, is not expected to return to action until 2023.
Furthermore, Henderson and Thiago have both endured spells away from first-team action due to injuries since August, with the Liverpool captain missing September's Merseyside derby and the victory over Ajax with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, the Spaniard was forced out of a handful of Premier League games after pulling up with a similar injury during the 2-2 draw with Fulham on August 6.
However, 21-year-old Curtis Jones should be available for selection in the coming weeks after finally making his return to full training on Thursday evening having not featured since the Community Shield victory over Manchester City because of an ongoing tibia injury.
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