Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed his reasons for dropping Trent Alexander-Arnold for the team’s goalless draw with Manchester City prior to the international break.
The 5ft 10in England international [Source: Transfermarkt] had started every previous Premier League game for the Reds this season, and Klopp has explained why Joe Gomez took his place against Pep Guardiola’s side.
“He is a fantastic boy and a fantastic player. Thank God we have a few options to change the line-up,” he said at his pre match press conference, as record by the Liverpool Echo [13:42].
“It was his birthday, the City game, so I thought the night before a lot of people might have contacted him so I didn’t want to disturb all these message exchanges. Joe can play there and with respect deserved to play. I think about the players I line-up first, not what it would mean for Trent. It was nothing. He came back in a good shape and a good mood.”
OPINION
The part about Alexander-Arnold’s birthday was rather confusing, wasn’t it? Was Klopp saying that he dropped the right back because it was his birthday, or was he saying that he was going to tell Alexander-Arnold that he had dropped him but decided not to because he thought the youngster would be getting too many birthday messages on his phone to notice? It’s all a bit strange but these things can get lost in translation when English isn’t your mother tongue. What was more clear was Klopp stating that Gomez deserved to start ahead of Alexander-Arnold. The 20-year-old won’t like reading that, but perhaps it will light a fire under him to go and prove his manager wrong in the coming games. To be perfectly honest, Gomez has had a better season than Alexander-Arnold so he deserved the start against City, but the latter will be keen to get back in the line up and show everyone why he should never be dropped again.
