Young Gunners make Liverpool suddenly look their age

Sunday’s match at the Emirates Stadium was won by the team that played with the highest intensity. The team that looked most comfortable in its system and the team that has used a connection with its own fans to lift the atmosphere of home games to feverish levels. That team, however, was not Liverpool.

Arsenal beat Jurgen Klopp’s side at their own game as they claimed a 3-2 win to return to the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners are on an upward trajectory that could make them title challengers this season. Liverpool, on the other hand, appear to be in the midst of a decline that has supporters asking questions of the club’s leadership, including Klopp.

Arsenal had 46 touches in Liverpool's box today – more than they had in the previous 5 PL meetings combined (44)

Liverpool have only allowed their opponents more touches in their box in 1 previous PL game under Klopp – 48 v Man City, November 2019 pic.twitter.com/nDPN48h4vN

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) October 9, 2022

Liverpool have won just two of the eight Premier League fixtures they have played this season. They are already adrift of the other members of the ‘Big Six’ and are 14 points off the top of the table – there will be no title challenge this season. But it’s not just results that have been concerning.

Klopp has switched between a variety of different formations in a desperate attempt to get Liverpool’s season back on track. Many have pointed to the summer sale of Sadio Mane as a reason for Liverpool’s drop-off, but this doesn’t explain why the Reds look so vulnerable in defence. Their midfield is also an area of concern.

The core of Liverpool’s problems this season could be their age. Six (Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah) of the 11 players Klopp picked to start against Arsenal were over 30. Two of the substitutes – Fabinho and Roberto Firmino – are also over 30.

This could be why Liverpool have looked so low on energy this season. Arsenal, one of the youngest teams in the Premier League, exposed this on Sunday with Klopp’s side unable to play with the trademark that has come to be expected of them over the last few years. The Reds’ high press hasn’t been so high of late.

Increasingly, it feels like Liverpool are at a crossroads. Their recruitment since Klopp’s appointment in 2015 has been exceptional, but the club potentially finds itself at the start of a major squad rebuild. Liverpool must get younger to continue to handle Klopp’s high-intensity, high-energy approach.

Seven years ago today, Jürgen Klopp became a Red, and we’re so glad! 🥰🎶

Here’s to creating many more special memories, boss ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zH0WHksGNQ

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 8, 2022

Some supporters have questioned whether it’s Klopp, not his Liverpool squad, that is coming to the end of a cycle. The German coach has faltered in his seventh season at each of his last two clubs (Borussia Dortmund and Mainz), leading to suggestions that his tenures might come with an expiry date similar to that of Jose Mourinho and Brendan Rodgers.

“I can understand that I left after seven years and now we are in a difficult situation, but, if you think twice about it, you realise the situation is completely different,” Klopp responded when asked if his Liverpool team are suffering in the same way Dortmund and Mainz did in his final season in charge.

Liverpool have already built one title-winning team with Klopp as manager and there’s no reason to believe they can’t replenish their squad to challenge at the top of the English and European game again, although the exit of Michael Edwards as sporting director at the end of last year has left a void in the structure at Anfield.

But this season might already be something of a write off. Liverpool’s squad looks ill-equipped to handle the demands of their own manager and this won’t change until January at the earliest when the club can enter the transfer market. Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal could mark the start of a new process.