Mohamed Salah reality becomes clear for Jürgen Klopp as emphatic Liverpool statement sent

Even in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool managed to defeat Arsenal. It must be clear to Jürgen Klopp how impressive the win was for his team.

Liverpool will miss Mohamed Salah while he is at AFCON… but Jürgen Klopp knows his side can cope. (Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Although it is misleading to say that Liverpool had not defeated Arsenal in an FA Cup match since the competition’s final in 2001, the gap of 23 years has occurred. Since then, the two have only met three times, and it was extremely unfortunate for Jürgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta to emerge from the hat together in this situation.

Arsenal will be able to tell itself that it is one less thing to worry about. Now that the Premier League title fight is underway, the Gunners can concentrate on advancing as far as they can in the Champions League. However, the truth is that Liverpool’s victory was a statement. The Reds demonstrated great resolve and a far stronger clinical edge in the last third of the game despite missing a few key players.

Where each of these teams finishes in the league standings is still up in the air, but Arsenal needs to find a solution to its goal-scoring dilemma. It was another game in which Liverpool’s players managed to come out on top.

It’s obvious that improvements can still be made. Liverpool was exposed at the back far too frequently, despite the fact that important players who are currently absent will soon be back.

When the teams meet again on the same field in a few weeks, Klopp’s team ought to be much stronger. As the Reds secured their spot in the FA Cup fourth round, here are some things Liverpool.com discovered and things you might have missed.

One thing we discovered: although Luis Díaz hasn’t played on the right side for Liverpool very often, he was very effective there during this match. He crossed over and changed flanks far more frequently than usual, even in the first half when he was primarily positioned on the left.

Before making an impressive performance against Newcastle United on Monday, the Colombian was not in great form, but here, Díaz looked extremely sharp once more. Mohamed Salah’s turn around could not have come at a better time, with him away for the Africa Cup of Nations.

He posed a serious threat when playing from the right. Deeper, with Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott was even more helpful because Dominik Szoboszlai is currently out of the starting lineup. Díaz is more agile and more suitable to play on the right during Salah’s absence, which could last for up to seven more games, depending on how far Egypt advances.

Principal learning

Liverpool should be OK without Salah if this result is any indication — after all, it was an away victory against Arsenal, so there may be some significance to it. It’s a very encouraging sign if you can play without him and Virgil van Dijk against the Gunners. While it’s true that the Egyptian will be missed, Liverpool has more than enough players to cover for his absence.

Once Liverpool made the required changes to its attack, it was able to create and score and looked very impressive. Even the dangerous Diogo Jota was left off of the starting lineup against Arsenal. There is nothing to be afraid of; the Reds still have a lot of games left.

Even though it was the least important trophy left, Liverpool is still vying for a quadruple. It is the clear favorite to finish the campaign with hardware in at least two of the competitions that it is still in.

A moment you might have missed Szoboszlai was observing from a distance. Left at home due to a hamstring injury. ‘Let’s go boys,’ he captioned a photo on Instagram, and he was undoubtedly impressed by what he saw.

Though it’s unclear if the Hungarian will be able to return in time for the Premier League match at Emirates Stadium at the beginning of next month, that would be a significant boost. Van Dijk’s return would also be beneficial.

The Liverpool captain, who was sent home looking ill, was also present but missed this match due to illness. At the last whistle, he posted on social media, “Come on the boys, let’s go!”

Liverpool can definitely win again in February, hopefully by then with both of them, if it can win away at Arsenal without the two. Although it was ‘only’ the FA Cup, this was a clear-cut statement win in every way.