Liverpool boss Klopp tells fans ‘we need you’ for Arsenal

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had a message for his team's fans ahead of Saturday's Premier League match against Arsenal: “We need Anfield on their toes.”

Klopp's side, one point behind leaders Arsenal in the table, were coming off a thumping 5-1 win at Anfield against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, and the German coach appeared to be questioning the level of enthusiasm he had heard from fans. During the match.

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“But I have to say I said it a long time ago, I kind of thought it in the first half, when the boys played really outstanding, I wasn't very happy,” said Klopp after the match. “I have to say it now, with the mood behind me. I asked people, 'What do you want?'

“So we changed a lot of things, we dominated West Ham like crazy, we missed chances. If I was in the stand I would be on my guard, a thousand percent.”

Curtis Jones scored two well-taken goals before the hour mark, but it was only when Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and late-comer talisman Mohamed Salah scored that the match turned into a rout.

Liverpool were also coming off a disappointing 0-0 draw against Manchester United on Sunday – a match in which Klopp said his team played well without picking up a win – and he acknowledged that could have affected the crowd's attitude Wednesday.

I don't know if the game against Man United was so bad that we have to say, 'Oh, sorry we didn't crush them,'” Klopp said. “We need Anfield on Saturday. Without Anfield, I would say… [Arsenal] didn't play this week… they prepared for this game, and [those] who knows them a little, they will be prepared.

“So we need Anfield on their toes from the first second – without me arguing with the opposing coach, whatever. We need you from the first second. If you really want it, if he There's too much football in December, I won't do it. I don't know, sorry, we have to play that too. But if you're not fit, give your ticket to someone else.

Wednesday's result puts Liverpool – who have not lost at home since February – into the League Cup semi-finals for a record 19th time and sets up a semi-final match against Fulham the week of January 9. another semi-final.

The Carabao Cup final is scheduled for February 25 at Wembley Stadium, and fans at Anfield, in the rain, eager to see their team in the final, chanted “Wembley” in the final minutes on Wednesday.

With the amount of football his team is expected to play in the coming weeks – four games between now and January 7, including two against Arsenal – Klopp admitted that perhaps the Anfield faithful were only warming up for the Christmas and New Year.

“No, the negativity was around us and not the stadium,” Klopp said. “But not the enthusiasm I felt about the performance. I thought it was a performance that one could really enjoy – so many good performances, so many good individual performances, so many challenges to celebrate, stuff like that.

“But we only had a 1-0 lead and we played a game where we shot a lot and didn't score. But if it's the warmup for Saturday, I'm happy.”