Klavan Hails Arsenal A "Special" Victory But Eyes Future Improvements

Most people could guess, as the injuries to each side began to pile up, that last Sunday's match against Arsenal to open the Premier League campaign would be a strange one, but the 4-3 nail-biter that played out was still enough to stop hearts. One can only imagine how it felt for new defender Ragnar Klavan to make his Liverpool debut in such a chaotic game.

In an interview with the Echo, Klavan talked about his first competitive experience with the Reds and what the team learned from the match.

"It was a crazy game," Klavan said. "This is one of the best leagues in the world and when your first game is against Arsenal you know it’s going to be at a really high level. It was a good for me to see what the Premier League is like.

"For the spectators, it was an amazing game to watch but there were good moments and bad moments for us. Winning was special but as a centre-half, when your team concedes three goals it’s never too great a day. You can’t be too happy. We have to look into that and we will work on things in training for sure. There’s a lot of room for improvements."

Certainly conceding three goals, two of them in the span of 11 minutes, speaks to necessary improvements to be made on the training ground for future matches.

"It was our first game and maybe there was a bit too much excitement early on," he continued. "Arsenal started better. They had good pressing and for us the first 15 to 20 minutes were hard. After that we slowly came into the game."

For his part, Klavan had a solid game and a decent debut. Once Joel Matip is ready to play, it is believed that Klavan will make way for the younger center-back. However, it's still good to know that Klopp has at his disposal a reliable option at the back.

Klavan himself seems to understand that reality, one that Klopp was likely to explain during negotiations earlier this summer. The player said about future games, "I enjoyed it but I have no idea whether I’ll continue to start. For me it’s more important how the team does. If the manager decides that it’s better if someone else plays then that’s okay. That will just mean I have to work harder to come back. This way is good. The best guys always play to help the team."