Thiago Alcantara’s inclusion in the Liverpool FC XI week in and week out has become essential towards Jurgen Klopp’s side bearing any chances of retaining their Premier League crown, says ex-Arsenal man Paul Merson.
The Merseyside Reds have conceded the top spot in the Premier League standings to arch-rivals Manchester United on the back of a three-game winless streak for Klopp’s men, coupled with the Old Trafford giants exhibiting a great brand of football to go three points clear at the summit.
Merson, while speaking to Sky Sports as per the Mirror, urged the Liverpool FC gaffer to include summer arrival Thiago Alcantara in his first-team plans regularly, owing to the creative influence the Spanish international possesses in the centre of the park.
The former Gooner also called on Klopp to reintroduce fringe first-teamer Xherdan Shaqiri back into his fold due to the Swiss international having the ability to open up spaces for the Liverpool FC frontline trio of Mane-Salah-Firmino to cause trouble upon opposition defences.
“I feel teams are approaching Liverpool now, not giving them any space, and saying: ‘You’ll have to break us down.’
“Liverpool are struggling without that guile in midfield. They’ll need Thiago to play every week. He’s the one who sees that pass.
“I think Jurgen Klopp knows this now, because he’s even bringing Xherdan Shaqiri in, someone who you’d have previously thought might not play another minute for Liverpool. But he can put the ball through the eye of a needle.
“Without that, it takes the Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino X-factor out of the game.
“Liverpool are still the best in the world without the ball, but when there’s no space there, it gets taken away.
“Thiago must play every week. He can see that pass, and we’ve seen evidence of that in a couple of games. It might not always come off, but he sees it.
Thiago’s game-time for his new club since his move to Anfield last summer was curtailed owing to a hamstring blow for the Spaniard but the 29-year-old returned to the pitch after a near three-month-long layoff in December 2020.
