Jurgen Klopp has vowed to go “all-in” against Arsenal in the FA Cup third round, despite Liverpool having to balance their priorities this season.
The Reds will take what they hope will be their first steps towards regaining the trophy they lifted as part of a domestic double in 2022 when they take on the Gunners on Sunday afternoon.
Having reached the midway point of the season still competitive in all four competitions, rotation is likely to be a key ingredient for success between now and May.
Klopp insists there will be no holding back against Mikel Arteta’s side at the Emirates, however, regardless of the League Cup semi-final against Fulham taking place just three days later.
“All the players in our squad, who are with us in the same dressing room, are ready for games. That’s how it is, no doubt about it,” the Liverpool boss said ahead of the contest, as quoted by the club’s official website.
“So, four years ago, we played against Everton in the FA Cup and Curtis Jones fired that ball into the far corner. It was one of the best nights of our lives; [it was] Everton, a derby, a very young team, and we won this game somehow. It was great.
“But can you go to Arsenal and play a team of boys, in the situation Arsenal is in, where they will probably go all-in? Of course not.
“We are Liverpool, we cannot go there like that. And there is no need to.”
The comments offer a hint into what he can expect from the manager’s team selection for the contest, following on from his suggestion that there was “no need” to shuffle the pack given the six-day break since the win over Newcastle.
His suggestion appears to be that he could afford to rest players in the cup against Everton four years ago this week, but the same can’t be said for Arsenal given the quality.
A cheeky dig at the Blues perhaps? We’re very much in favour if so!
Klopp admits that the schedule is tough for players at this time of year, but concurrently, he maintains that “rhythm” is a vital part of keeping the momentum going.
“Yes, three days after this there is another game. But we just came out of a period where we played five games in 13 days, and nobody asked us, ‘How do you feel?’ We just have to go through, we have to win.
“Now we have two games in three days, it sounds like ‘so, where’s the problem?’ That is our life, that is the boys’ life.
“We have to make sure that we get through, but I cannot, after six days [without a game], rest a player on Sunday for the Wednesday, and definitely not for the [next] Premier League game [against Bournemouth] in 16 days. That makes no sense.
“And rhythm is an important thing. So [against] Arsenal, we will go all-in and we will see.”
