NewsJürgen Klopp: We will go all-in against Arsenal
The Reds head to Emirates Stadium this afternoon for their third-round clash, with the game coming just 15 days after the sides played out an absorbing 1-1 draw at Anfield in the Premier League.
And though the prospect of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham looms on the horizon, the boss says there is no chance he will take the meeting with the Gunners lightly as a result.
Klopp told reporters: “All the players in our squad, who are with us in the same dressing room, are ready for games. That’s how it is, no doubt about it.
“So, four years ago, we played against Everton in the FA Cup and Curtis Jones fired that ball into the far corner. It was one of the best nights of our lives; [it was] Everton, a derby, a very young team, and we won this game somehow. It was great.
“But can you go to Arsenal and play a team of boys, in the situation Arsenal is in, where they will probably go all-in? Of course not.
“We are Liverpool, we cannot go there like that. And there is no need to.”
He continued: “Yes, three days after this there is another game. But we just came out of a period where we played five games in 13 days, and nobody asked us, ‘How do you feel?’ We just have to go through, we have to win.
“Now we have two games in three days, it sounds like ‘so, where’s the problem?’ That is our life, that is the boys’ life.
“We have to make sure that we get through, but I cannot, after six days [without a game], rest a player on Sunday for the Wednesday, and definitely not for the [next] Premier League game [against AFC Bournemouth] in 16 days. That makes no sense.
“And rhythm is an important thing. So [against] Arsenal, we will go all-in and we will see.”