On The Ball | Thiago’s arrival brings guile to the Liverpool midfield and a new dimension to their forward play

Time was running out, though. Every manager in the top flight – and coaches across Europe – has been studying the German’s methods and working on ways to pin back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson and cut off the supply to Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. A simple message was being repeated across the game: make Liverpool’s midfield beat us.

Pep Lijnders, Klopp’s number two, spelt out the situation in July in an interview in his native Netherlands. “Trent and Robbo literally give us wings,” the Dutchman said. “But the rotten thing is teams are already trying to stop that. It is up to us to remain unpredictable.”

The signing gives Klopp a much bigger palate of options. Opponents have increasingly been overloading the flanks to stop the full backs advancing. Arsenal, who come to Anfield on Monday night, have started the Premier League season using a 3-4-3 formation that appears to have been fashioned by Mikel Arteta with one eye on the champions.

Any plans designed to curtail Liverpool’s width no longer apply. Thiago brings a new level of threat from central areas. Klopp famously introduced the phrase “heavy metal football” into the game’s lexicon but his title winners had a much more subtle approach despite the success of the past two campaigns being built on pace and power. The addition of Thiago provides a massive injection of craft. Not only is the newcomer one of the best passers of the ball in the world, he can change the tempo of a match. Liverpool have been used to imposing their rhythm on the opposition and their most successful rivals have been able to interrupt that cadence. Thiago is superb at dictating the momentum – he is one of the few players able to slow the action down and speed it up at will. Klopp’s platoon of midfielders have many qualities but none of them are able to change the direction of a game in the way Thiago can.