Liverpool have travelled to Naples for their upcoming meeting in the Champions League group stage with Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli.
Speaking ahead of the tie, the German told journalists gathered at his pre-match presser that Arthur would be capable of playing minutes at the Stadio Armando Diego Maradona, though a full game will come too soon for the 26-year-old in comments relayed by Paul Gorst on Twitter.
Klopp on Arthur: "He needs just football now. He wasn't in team training for awhile, that's what we're doing. Can he play minutes? Yes. Full game? No. He needs to get used to the intensity. He's doing well, giving his all. We'll see if we can use him."
— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) September 6, 2022
The playmaker had fallen out of favour with former boss Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus with his last set of competitive minutes coming in the Italian Cup final back in May.
With Thiago Alcantara likewise unlikely to get much in the way of minutes, following his recent return from the sidelines, there’s a possibility the Brazilian will be a handed a decent cameo in relatively familiar territory.
Ideally, starting with a more technical operator in the middle of the park may hand Liverpool the control in midfield they need to better impact a game that has proved historically troublesome.
Though, it sounds as if we might not catch a glimpse of the former Blaugrana star much before the second-half of action.
#Ep58 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Rating Liverpool’s UCL group, making a new signing… & more!