Arsene Wenger
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has criticised Liverpool for the signing of Thiago Alcantara, identifying what the team has lost with his arrival. Wenger has identified that his inclusion in the team sees Klopp’s side lose some of the aggression they had in midfield in recent years and also hinted at why Wenger signed the played he did while at Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger said “Thiago Alcantara, for me, shows a problem for a manager. Liverpool were very hungry and aggressive in midfield, when you’re a manager you think you want to make the team better and you take a technical player. When you take a technical player, you lose the aggression in midfield and you destroy a little bit the strength in midfield that Liverpool had before. They have certainly less capacity today to win the ball back and they suffer a little bit more. Sometimes when you want to improve the team, you take something away from it.”
That may also explain why Wenger regularly seemed to ignored calls for Arsenal to sign a defensive midfielder during the latter years of his spell in charge at the Emirates Stadium. It was repeatedly highlighted as an idea on the field where the Gunners needed to improve but Wenger pursued alternative additions – and his comments on Thiago taking something away from Liverpool may identify why.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are enduring a disastrous defence of their Premier League crown, dropping to sixth in the standings and 13 points behind leaders Manchester City, who hold a game in hand. While there was plenty of excitement surrounding the capture of Thiago, the Spaniard has endured difficulties upon his arrival in the Premier League.
