Jurgen Klopp slams Anfield atmosphere saying ‘give away your ticket vs Arsenal’
Jurgen Klopp has shockingly told Liverpool fans to give away their tickets if they're not prepared to back them against Arsenal.
The Reds boss criticised the Anfield atmosphere last night (December 20) as his side cruised to a 5-1 Carabao Cup victory over West Ham, setting up a semi-final encounter with Fulham.
It comes after Gary Neville called out "the worst atmosphere I've ever seen at Anfield for a Liverpool vs Manchester United game" at the weekend – and Klopp wants more from the crowd when they welcome Mikel Arteta's Gunners.
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"In the first half, when the boys played exceptionally, I was not overly happy with the atmosphere behind me," he said. "I asked people: 'What do they want?'
"We changed a lot of things and we dominated West Ham like crazy and missed chances. If I was in the stands, I would be on my toes, 1,000%.
"I don't know if the Man United game was that bad that we have to say sorry we didn't smash them? We need Anfield on Saturday."
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Klopp appeared wary of the threat of Premier League leaders Arsenal, who sit just a point above them in the table. "Arsenal didn't play [in the cup] this week," he pointed out ahead of Saturday.
"Anyone who knows anything about them knows they will be prepared, so we need Anfield on their toes from the first second, without me having an argument with the opposition coach.
"If it is too much football in December, if you are not in the right shape, give your ticket to somebody else."
Responding on social media, fans took aim at the club's ticketing process. "Give tickets to someone else is a lot easier said then done with the way the club go about it," one argued.
A second echoed: "If this is what the club want, they need to make it easier to buy tickets, to swap tickets and make them cheaper so more people can attend!"
And a third suggested: "Get rid of the hospitality packages, the prawn brigade and go after the touts, and then you get an atmosphere."
Neville, meanwhile, couldn't resist a quip. "Those Liverpool fans having a pop at me about the atmosphere v United are a bit quiet this morning," he posted, tagging his Sky Sports colleague Jamie Carragher.
That prompted a response from Carragher, who wrote: "All mind games for Saturday! Atmosphere was a bit flat v Man United because we expected to win easily because you lot are so bad……last night was absolutely fine.
"Jurgen knows all this and the power of Anfield. Compare his results at Anfield with a full stadium to the Covid season!"
The criticism comes despite Liverpool playing their last two games in front of an increased 57,000 capacity for the first time after the expansion of the Anfield Road Stand.
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