Klopp Talk: Arthur Won’t Start Against Napoli

So, a quick roundup of Liverpool FC’s injury situation: Diogo Jota made his return over the weekend, and Thiago returned to training on Monday. Jordan Henderson’s hamstring injury was confirmed to rule him out for at least three weeks.

So the midfielders that have travelled to Naples for this Champions League fixture are: Fabinho, Thiago, Arthur, Elliott, Milner, Bajcetic.

Yeah. That’s a light midfield. If you’re looking at that lineup of midfielders, and you think Arthur Melo should be making his debut tonight... Jürgen Klopp has got news for you.

“Arthur just needs football now, training especially, that’s how it is.”

“He wasn’t in team training for a while at Juve so he needs proper team training and that’s what we are doing with him.”

“Can he play minutes? Yes. Should he play a full game? No, because he needs to get used to the intensity in each competition.”

“It’s not like the Champions League is like you have to work less than the Premier League. Not at all and especially not here.”

“But he’s doing well, he’s really giving his absolute all in training. We have to be careful with him as well and then we will see when we can use him.”

Alisson Becker, who was also present at the pre-match presser with our manager, was hopeful of what Arthur can bring to Liverpool in the coming months:

“Everything went so quick that I only spoke with him on the day that he was coming to Liverpool and then after that at the training ground.”

“He’s an amazing guy. We are going to see more about him when you see him on the pitch. He is a fantastic player.”

“I’m looking forward for him to be really fit and for him to be settled in as soon as possible.”

“We know that it’s not easy changing from once country to another. I did the same move as him, coming from Italian football. I know there are some differences but in the end the football is the same.”

“With his qualities and with his attitude and his desire he can overcome any of these small problems.”

“I really believe that he can bring a lot of quality to the team and he is going to do well.”

With Arthur ruled out of the starting lineup, we’re probably looking at a starting midfield of Fabinho, Harvey Elliott, with Thiago or James Milner completing the trio. Up the Reds.