MUCH OF THE reaction to Jurgen Klopp’s chiding of the Anfield atmosphere has ignored the context in which it was made.
It is no coincidence that Klopp has sought to provoke his crowd ahead of a home game against Arsenal, who struggle with the Anfield atmosphere more than most.
Mikel Areta has always been exquisitely sensitive to the Anfield atmosphere. “In my playing career, Anfield was the only ground where I had the feeling of ‘pájara’, of being stuck”, he said in 2019.
“It happened to me with Arsenal, and we conceded five… You say: ‘I do not know what’s going on, stop the game, please, because I do not know where I am’. It’s hard to explain, but it never happened to me anywhere other than Anfield.”
And so, prior to the trip to Anfield two seasons ago, Mikel Arteta infamously erected a speaker system at training to blast out You’ll Never Walk Alone and prepare his players for the atmosphere into which they would be walking.
That game was trundling quietly along until Arteta got involved in a touchline spat with Klopp, on which the crowd pounced. Liverpool channeled the crowd’s fever and Arsenal shrank in front of it: Sadio Mane broke the deadlock six minutes later and Liverpool then won 4-0.
Last season Arsenal blew a two-goal lead at Anfield in a 2-2 draw, a result which mortally wounded their title prospects. The crowd were naturally flat as Liverpool trailed by two goals, but once again Arsenal provided them with a spark, when Granit Xhaka got involved in an altercation with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Mohamed Salah scored moments later, Liverpool salvaged a draw and Arsenal’s title challenge did not recover. Arteta lamented after the game that his side had got caught up in a “special” atmosphere.
This time around, Klopp doesn’t want that atmosphere to hinge on what the opposition do.
“We need Anfield on Saturday”, said Klopp after Wednesday’s hammering of West Ham.
“Arsenal didn’t play this week. They’ve prepared for this game and anyone who knows anything about them knows they will be prepared. So we need Anfield on their toes from the first second, without me having an argument with the opposition coach.”
Klopp is seeking this advantage because he knows he needs it. This is a meeting of two leading sides, but there is a niggling sense that Liverpool are flattered by their points total. The recent run of stirring comebacks, long-range rockets and last-minute winners have clouded a series of glitchy, staccato performances. It’s hardly anything for Liverpool to be ashamed by, given they have completely overhauled their team.
The only regulars from the 2019/20 title winning season likely to play tonight are Alisson, Virgil Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, and Salah.
But while Alexander-Arnold is reborn in his new role, Van Dijk has returned to somewhere close to his peak and Alisson and Salah remain peerless, Liverpool 2.0 remain a work in progress. The lack of a true defensive midfielder who is comfortable taking the ball in midfield under pressure means the team still looks a little imbalanced, and as a result Liverpool have lost that total control of games they had when they were at their best.
Where once they killed opponents on flow, Liverpool now do their damage in moments; they have lost their ferocious jab but can still deliver a few devastating knockout blows. This was evident in the knotty draw against Manchester United, when, perhaps unnerved by an oddly impatient crowd, they rushed their decision-making and tried to barge a way through United rather than going calmly around them.
These are the qualities Arsenal have. They look to be the most finely-tuned team in the league now, with Kai Havertz slowly coming to grips with what is asked of him in midfield. Arsenal have lost something with the sale of Xhaka: without his very underrated passing range, the left side of their attack has lost some of its fluency. The greater burden placed on their right side may go a long way to explaining why Bukayo Saka has become more of a creator than a goalscorer, and why Martin Odegaard’s influence has slightly waned. But what they have lost attacking-wise they have gained in defensive solidity, thanks primarily to the arrival of Declan Rice.
The parallels between Liverpool’s signing of Van Dijk and Arsenal’s of Rice are obvious, but, conversely, David Raya is no rival for Alisson. Where Alisson consistently wins games for Liverpool, Arsenal have been winning too often in spite of Raya.
Arsenal are a better team than Liverpool, so Klopp knows he needs to disrupt them by any means possible. His status is such that he will get the reaction he wants from his crowd, and he must hope Arsenal cower once again amid the chaos.
Otherwise, logic dictates it’s time for Arsenal to win at Anfield for the first time since 2012 and break the old ground’s stranglehold upon their emotions.