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Liverpool will sign Schalke defender Joel Matip on a free transfer when his contract runs out at the end of the season, according to reports in the Daily Mirror
Negotiations between Matip and his club have hit a stumbling block despite Schalke’s desire to keep him, and now the Merseysiders have agreed a deal in principle to bring the centre-back to the Premier League.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been an admirer of the Cameroon international since his time as manager of Schalke’s Bundasliga rivals Borussia Dortmund, and he is keen to strengthen an area of his squad that has been decimated by injuries this season.
Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho have all spent time out on the treatment table recently meaning that Klopp has had to rely on 34-year-old Kolo Toure while recalling Tiago Ilori from his loan spell at Aston Villa and bringing in QPR’s Steven Caulker until the end of the season.
Show all 22 1 /22Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Liverpool: Mignolet 5 out of 10 Calamitous as he so often is in the most important games. Could have done much better with the first two goals and rarely seemed to inspire confidence.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Clyne 4 out of 10 Theo Walcott was invariably going to cut in from the left, so why did Clyne so rarely follow him? A good defender would look to cut off that option but surely even an adequate one might try to stick with him? Not Clyne though.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Toure 5 out of 10 Time and again he was outmuscled by the effervescent Giroud, on whom he simply could not lay a finger. The way in which the Arsenal striker turned him for his side’s third typified his display.
2015 Getty Images
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Sakho 5 out of 10 Sakho managed to produce his best and worst moments in a Liverpool shirt throughout this game, sometimes even in the same minute. Seconds after clearing the ball off the line he was easily outmuscled by Giroud, who made it 2-2.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Moreno 5 out of 10 In an attacking sense there was much to like about Moreno’s energy and drive but he failed to get to grips with Campbell, who rarely seemed under any pressure when he had the ball.
2016 Getty Images
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Henderson 6 out of 10 One of the Liverpool players for whom this game came too soon in terms of fitness. He was unable to stamp any authority on the game in an attacking sense though he may well have been his side’s best defender by virtue of actually making a tackle.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Milner 6 out of 10 A perfectly acceptable display from Milner, who fulfilled his role of moving the ball on to the attacking players quickly and accurately. The two occasions the midfielder were dispossessed, though, were critical for his side.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Ibe 7 out of 10 Few players have given Monreal, the league’s best left-back, the marmalising Ibe inflicted. Time and again he got beyond his man and delivered tempting crosses. He did not have it quite as much his own way in the second period but he had already made a big impression.
2016 Getty Images
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Milner 6 out of 10 A perfectly acceptable display from Milner, who fulfilled his role of moving the ball on to the attacking players quickly and accurately. The two occasions the midfielder were dispossessed, though, were critical for his side.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Firmino 7 out of 10 He certainly raises his game for the big teams. His first was a poacher’s finish Benteke would have done well to reproduce, his gorgeous curling second few could have. He could have had a third in the first half and faded in the second, but he’d already made an excellent impression. Like Lallana though, he must make it last 90 minutes.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Lallana 6 out of 10 Certainly looks a much better player under Klopp than he did with the previous regime and some of his touches, particularly a gorgeous backheel to Milner, brought beautiful flashes to the contest. But it was just flashes; yet again he failed to define the game.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Arsenal: Cech 6 out of 10 A keeper of his quality could, and should, have done much better with Can’s early effort. It rasped Cech’s palms but did not need to go straight to Firmino. The keeper could of course do nothing about the second and after the opener was as reliable as ever.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Bellerin 6 out of 10 A quiet first half that was mostly spent trying to repel but his attacking drive got Arsenal’s third almost out of nothing. Too often the likes of Lallana managed to exploit space behind him.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Mertesacker 6 out of 10 For 75 minutes Mertesacker struggled to make an impact on the game but in the driving rain of the final minutes he was a colossus, diving in to stop chance after chance.
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Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Koscielny 6 out of 10 For 75 minutes Mertesacker struggled to make an impact on the game but in the driving rain of the final minutes he was a colossus, diving in to stop chance after chance. Koscielny: 6
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Monreal 6 out of 10 Struggled for much of the match with the excellent Ibe, but never stopped competing for the ball, making several crucial interventions at the back post.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Ramsey 6 out of 10 In an attacking sense this was an exemplary performance, grabbing a goal and an assist – and it could have been more. Too often he was careless and unreliable defensively, giving the ball away in his own half or clearing to no-one.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Flamini 4 out of 10 As Liverpool broke time and again with pace and drive one kept thinking ‘where is Flamini’? Nowhere to be found. He may have made his fair share of tackles but he was still far too often at fault with Firmino and company found space outside the area. In the 50th minute he was spotted pressing Simon Mignolet. Is that what he’s in the side for?
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Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Campbell 7 out of 10 Wenger backed his winger as a man for the critical occasions ahead of the game, and he proved just why tonight. A magnificent assist for Ramsey and a crucial role in the third were the key moments in another superb display.
2016 Liverpool FC
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Ozil 6 out of 10 How bizarre that in a game defined by attacking brilliance he was so peripheral for so long. There were of course brilliant touches and the odd pass that nearly paid off but nothing to change the course of the match.
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Walcott 6 out of 10 Really should have booted the ball away in the buildup to Liverpool’s first but things got much better after his calamitous start, with his direct running at his opponents creating plenty of chances, particularly in the second period.
2016 Getty Images
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 3 player ratings Giroud 8 outof 10 Showed remarkable gumption to not just continue after what seemed a worrying early head injury but to keep competing for balls. Converted with ease to make it 2-2 and scored a goal as great as Firmino’s to make it 3-2. We’ll just forget that missed sitter shall we?
2016 Getty Images
The Reds’ problems at the back remained on show as they conceded three times in the home draw with Arsenal on Wednesday, and Klopp will hope that the 6’4” frame of Matip will bring a dominant presence to his defence for the next campaign.
Capped on 27 occasions for this country, Matip, who can also play in defensive midfield, has been a regular part of the Schalke backline for the past six seasons since making he debut as a teenager.
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