Klopp warned of ‘premature’ Liverpool formation mistake, with pundit claiming Arsenal could pounce on ‘brave’ decision

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would be “brave” to use his tweaked formation away at Arsenal in the Premier League, according to Danny Murphy.

The Reds have stuttered with their form this season and several players have come in for criticism. Defenders such as Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have suffered, while their midfield has also come in for flak.

Klopp admitted on Monday that his side needed to improve in “pretty much everything”.

And on Tuesday, he switched from his trademark 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1 formation against Rangers. Liverpool subsequently made it four wins from 10 games this term by beating the Glasgow giants 2-0 in the Champions League.

It remains unclear if Klopp will stick to his altered system for Sunday’s crunch trip to north London.

According to Danny Murphy, though, a win over Rangers in the new formation is not enough to say it will prove fruitful in the long-term. And he added that Arsenal could be waiting to pounce if Liverpool play 4-2-3-1 in north London.

“It was a good opportunity for him to have a look at that system, he’s played it before,” Murphy told talkSPORT (05/10, 10:12am).

“Strangely, people have talked about that system making them more solid. Actually, it’s a more attacking formation because you’re taking out one of your so-called athletes in the middle of the park and putting in a forward.

“There’s four forwards on the pitch. I wouldn’t be surprised, but it would be brave to go to Arsenal and play that way.”

Klopp must be wary of Liverpool formation

Murphy added that table-topping Arsenal will prove a much sterner test than Rangers for Liverpool.

“Sometimes having two central midfielders who are both defensive-minded helps centre-halves feel more reassured,” the pundit added.

“It doesn’t matter how good your holding midfielder is, he can become isolated if he’s on his own. So, I understand why he did it, but judging any system on a performance against Rangers is premature.

“Arsenal will be a much more difficult test and if they play that system, it will show in that game where his strengths and weaknesses are more.”

Liverpool deployed Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara in their midfield duo.

And Klopp started Darwin Nunez – who has struggled for starts – alongside regular attacking trio Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.

As for Alexander-Arnold’s performance, he earned rave reviews for his free-kick which put Liverpool 1-0 up.

Pundits Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand also lauded Henderson for filling in defensively and allowing the right-back to express himself in attack.

Change got Reds out of their rut

Even if Liverpool do not continue their 4-2-3-1 formation, it was good for the side to go a different way.

They have struggled for a while this season playing 4-3-3 and not producing their best.

Making a temporary switch to the different formation would have instilled confidence in the players. They will know they can adapt to difficult situations and play in a number of ways.

And just escaping from the 4-3-3 system to try something new would have benefitted too.

We may see a reinvigorated 4-3-3 Liverpool at Arsenal, ready to take their momentum forward.