Liverpool vs. Arsenal: Key Takeaways from Brendan Rodgers' Pregame Presser

Clearly fully focused on his team’s preparations for their upcoming clash with Arsenal in the Premier League, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers kept his answers short and sweet in his pregame press conference.

The big news from what was a brisk encounter with the media was that Brad Jones will keep his place in goal at the expense of Simon Mignolet, as noted by Juliette Ferrington of the BBC, who also commented on the length of the press conference:

On the injury front, Rodgers also revealed that under-fire central defender Dejan Lovren could be set to miss the game with a problem, per This Is Anfield:

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Rodgers was also asked about Mario Balotelli, who will miss Sunday’s game after being levied with a one-game ban by the Football Association, per BBC Sport.

The Italian was banned for a social media post that appeared to contain anti-semitic remarks, and as noted here by James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, the Reds manager had no qualms with the sanction:

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Much of the focus ahead of this weekend’s game will naturally be on Alexis Sanchez. The Merseyside club were keen on signing the Chilean sensation in the summer, but the then-Barcelona man opted for the bright lights of London instead of a move to Anfield.

Rodgers admitted that he was interested in the player during the summer, and while the transfer didn’t eventually come off, he still had high praise for the Arsenal man and the rest of the team:

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The Liverpool boss had plenty of positive things to say about his own players, too. Raheem Sterling is a young forward that’s been in sparkling form for the majority of this campaign, and his superb brace against Bournemouth in midweek helped the Reds surge into the semi-final of the League Cup.

In that game, the England man was deployed as an orthodox centre-forward, and Rodgers paid tribute to both his quality and versatility ahead of the Arsenal clash:

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The Gunners will hope to handle Sterling a lot better than they did in this fixture last season, a game that Arsene Wenger's men embarrassingly lost 5-1. The youngster bagged a brace to cap off a scintillating display that afternoon, but with the Reds currently languishing down in the bottom half of the Premier League table, it's clear much has changed since then.

With that in mind, the Anfield crowd will be hoping a few new faces can turn on the style against the Gunners, and one player that looks to be gradually finding his feet in English football is Lazar Markovic. The Serbian bagged his first goal for the club in the midweek win over Bournemouth, and Rodgers praised his display:

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There’s been a clamour from many supporters for the club to splash the cash in January after the poor performances that have been served up this season.

The transfer committee method deployed by Liverpool has come in for some criticism from fans in recent weeks, per Joe Rimmer of the Liverpool Echo, but Rodgers insisted the club have yet to make major plans for the midseason window:

Rodgers is never a manager shy of providing elaborate answers during his press conferences, but in this one, his responses were short, to the point and noticeably blunt. It’s obvious that he’s a man who is under pressure and is solely focused on this weekend’s game; one that if he were to lose, the scrutiny on him would increase further.

The absence of Balotelli—who made a positive impact when introduced against Manchester United—will limit the team’s options in attacking positions, and it will likely see Sterling lead the Liverpool line for the third consecutive game.

But there’s an unshakeable sense that Sanchez is set to show Rodgers and Anfield exactly what they missed out on in the summer.