'Might be worth' — Garth Crooks offers strategy Liverpool must stick to after Arsenal defeat

BBC football pundit Garth Crooks has named Liverpool's Conor Bradley in his latest Premier League Team of the Week. Despite the Reds' disappointing loss to Arsenal on Sunday, their previous midweek demolition of Chelsea has earned the rising right-back a place in the team.

Crooks was full of praise for Bradley, who was named Man of the Match against the Blues after contributing a goal and two assists in his side's 4-1 win at Anfield.

"First and foremost Bradley can defend, and secondly the goal he scored against Chelsea was of the highest quality. What impressed me most about the full-back's performance was he played the game as though he belonged in the team," he wrote in his BBC Sport column.

Crooks included three Arsenal players in his team after their back-to-back wins over Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. While applauding Gabriel Magalhães for his performances in defence, the pundit also offered some advice for Jurgen Klopp and his men as they move forward in their title-challenging season.

"Liverpool blew Chelsea away in midweek and so I was surprised [Darwin] Núñez was left out of their starting line-up against Arsenal. There was a time when Liverpool never changed a winning side. It might be worth returning to that philosophy."

Indeed, despite Núñez contributing three goals and two assists in the previous four league games, he did not feature in the starting line-up to face Arsenal. Instead, Cody Gakpo returned to join Diogo Jota and Luis Díaz up front. The Reds managed just one shot on target throughout the match.

Liverpool's defeat has allowed Arsenal to open up the title race and as things stand, just two points separate the current top three. Manchester City will be rubbing their hands together following the result. The reigning champions have a game in-hand still to play and a win will see them leapfrog Liverpool into the top spot. This will remove the Reds' advantage and put City back in the driving seat as the second half of the season plays out.