Arnold showed his class, says Liverpool's Klopp

Right-back created the first goal for Diogo Jota against Arsenal; had a hand in the striker’s second late on

LONDON:

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said Trent Alexander-Arnold “showed his class” during the 3-0 victory over Arsenal on Saturday, a day after admitting his surprise at the right back’s recent omission from the England squad.

Alexander-Arnold produced the sort of enterprising display that elevated him into Gareth Southgate’s team, creating the first goal for Diogo Jota and having a hand in the Portuguese striker’s second late on.

“We scored these wonderful goals and Trent Alexander-Arnold showed his class, again,” Klopp said.

“I don’t want to make another discussion about Trent or stuff like that. I said it was Gareth (Southgate’s) decision. He is blessed with the choice he has in that position especially but Trent is in a good shape.

“If somebody says he is not then I have to say he is wrong, that is all. I am not responsible for his decisions.”

Klopp added that he was not criticising Southgate.

“I don’t want people to think I have an argument with Gareth. I don’t have, not at all; I respect his role and his decision, but I know the player better than anyone else, than any other coach, I can say that he is a world-class player.”

Klopp’s side have lost eight league games since the start of the year, a calamitous fall from grace after their romp to the title last season, but against Arsenal they looked far more like their old selves with a dominant display.

Liverpool are now in fifth place, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, although Klopp says their hopes of a top-four finish are out of their control.

“It was a very important statement for us because we need to show that we fight for it,” Klopp said.

“In our situation it’s clear, with all the things that happened to us in the past in this season, (they) brought us in a position where we don’t have it in our hands.

“We have to win our games and somebody else has to lose because we don’t play most of them anymore, but we have to make pressure on them and that’s what we did tonight with the result.

“We are still not in the end of the season or finished; Everton can pass us, West Ham can pass us and all these kind of things, so we have to fight and that’s the statement for us and nobody else.”