Toure was the best of a bad bunch in Liverpool’s defence last night
GK/Defence
Simon Mignolet – If you had seen Simon Mignolet last night, but never before, you’d probably raise an eyebrow at the fact that he’s been offered a new contract. But considering we all know that his display last night was the rule, rather than the exception, it makes the decision baffling. He got nowhere near the first goal, was nugmegged at his near post for the second and, while it was an excellent finish for the third, it took the Belgian five seconds to realise it had gone past him. These criticisms may seem overly harsh as, in reality, none of the goals were directly Mignolet’s fault. But he is meant to be the ‘last line of defence’ and as such he offers little. He is also meant to help organise his defence, something which also rarely happens. Whereas the likes of De Gea and Cech save points for their sides, Mignolet has often does the opposite. Rating – 4.5
Nathaniel Clyne – It was one of Clyne’s poorest games last night, as he offered little in terms of support and was as culpable as any at the back. Giving away a stupid free kick which lead to the third goal was a big low point. Rating – 5
Kolo Toure – While those around him were regularly losing their heads, Kolo was an island of calm in comparison. He showed his experience on a number of occasions and brought the ball forward a couple of times to start attacks in the second half. If you’d asked for a vote straight after the game, Toure and Caulker would be the pair to start against Manchester United. Rating – 6
Mamadou Sakho – The Sakho love-in continues but he continues to flatter to deceive. Many Reds feel Sakho is the best centre back in the squad but he has committed as many individual errors as anybody this season, and despite all those flattering pass completion and defensive stats, the fact is the defense was again all at sea with Sakho present. At this stage, you have to wonder whether Klopp would be better starting the backline from scratch. Rating – 4
Alberto Moreno – Moreno, like Clyne, was not at his best but managed to at least add his body to the forward movement when Liverpool pressed ahead. His crossing was a bit aimless at times but at least the effort was there. Rating – 6
I feel it is harsh to blame Sakho for the first Arsenal equalizer. The guy was trying to regain his bearings after clashing heads with Gerou. The blame for Arsenal’s first two goals lies squarely on Mignolet. Mignolet is not first choice goalkeeper material for a club of Liverpool’s stature. Klopp needs to buy a top goalkeeper and push Mignolet to second choice goalkeeper. We would not have conceded the first two goals had Pepe Reina still been our first choice. Let’s sell Bogdan, as he is utterly useless, then keep Mignolet and Ward as our support goalkeepers to a new top goalkeeper. Klopp shouldn’t offer Mignolet a new contract after the absolute shambles he displayed last night and this season. He cost us a couple of points even in the season where Suarez and Sturridge were scoring for fun as we should have won the title. A new first choice goalkeeper should be top priority for Klopp as Mignolet is making the defence in front of him nervous and jittery as they don’t trust his erratic goalkeeping. The guy can not command his goal area, and that is a basic requirement for any goalkeeper