Exclusive: Liverpool needed to go ‘back to basics’ – Former Red says midfield was crucial to 4-0 Arsenal victory

Posted by
Liverpool

Liverpool’s ability to win the ball back in the midfield was a major part of the victory over Arsenal.

Former record-signing Stan Collymore said that Jurgen Klopp’s ability to go ‘back to basics’ was vital as the high-pressing and control over the game was pivotal in winning the game, in his exclusive interview with Empire of the Kop.

The ex-Nottingham Forest player said: “It was a fully functioning, aggressive Liverpool midfield performance.

READ MORE: (Video) Former Liverpool forward declares Oxlade-Chamberlain ‘hasn’t done enough in his career to warrant a starting spot’

“I think that if they do that and go back to basics, some of the things I noticed in the poorer performances, maybe not poorer, West Ham was good in spells but very bad in spells … that wasn’t the case yesterday.

“After the first 30 minutes, Liverpool had a stranglehold on the game, dominated the game and in recent performances that’s been the difference to winning against Arsenal and losing against upwardly mobile teams like West Ham”.

The Brighton and West Ham results were damaging in our hunt for top-spot in the league but the Arsenal performance has certainly restored the good mood within the club to go and attack the festive period.

Being able to control a game and kill it off early has been a big part of the better performances so far this season, whether the message was to go back to basics or not this weekend, Saturday’s performance was a return to a brilliant display and game plan.

It’s important to have the midfield on form to go and win any game and the return of several of our key players from injury should only benefit the squad and results.

You can watch the clip on our Twitter page, or the full interview is available on our Facebook.

Gerrard makes it very clear how he feels about Klopp and the Liverpool job in opening Aston Villa presser

More Stories Liverpool