After being overtaken in the Premier League table by West Ham United, who handed Liverpool their first defeat of the season prior to the international break with a 3-2 defeat at the London Stadium, Jurgen Klopp’s side will want to ensure that doesn’t happen again when Arsenal visit Anfield this evening, with Mikel Arteta’s side one place and two points behind the Reds.
In terms of which players Jurgen Klopp could include in his starting XI to take on the Gunners, the Merseysiders are suffering something of an injury crisis at the moment. That is particularly the case in midfield, with the likes of Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita, James Milner, Curtis Jones and potentially club captain Jordan Henderson all out injured for this match.
With this in mind, one midfielder who should be available for the clash and should be in the starting XI is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Ox could make the difference
Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2017 summer transfer window from Arsenal in a deal worth a reported fee of £35m, the 28-year-old – who has been described as “brilliant” by Klopp – has made 116 appearances for the Reds across all competitions. He has scored 14 goals and provided 13 assists along the way, showing that he has what it takes to pop up in the right place at the right time to set up or score a goal for the team.
This could well make him a dangerous and potentially terrifying opponent for Arsenal if Klopp does start him against his former club this evening.
As well as his attacking prowess, Oxlade-Chamberlain – who is currently earning a wage of £120k-per-week according to Spotrac – also showed his defensive capabilities in the game against West Ham.
Despite the overall disappointing result, the 28-year-old made two tackles and one clearance and won six of his 10 duels against the Irons that evening.
Taking all this into account, even though Klopp may have little option other than to play Oxlade-Chamberlain against Arsenal due to the spate of injuries, the England midfielder could well end up being the difference between Liverpool picking up a positive result and being handed another disappointing one.
In other news: “Incredible” Liverpool ace with 2.2 shots per game has been Klopp’s unsung hero this season
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