‘That’s how bad’ - Richard Keys continues Liverpool U-turn as he fires dig at Arsenal and Man City

Richard Keys has heaped praise on the 'rock an roll' football that Jurgen Klopp is deploying at Liverpool - having been left bored watching Arsenal's victory over Manchester City.

The Reds sit fourth in the Premier League table following Sunday's 2-2 draw at Brighton. It proved a seesaw affair at the AMEX Stadium, with Liverpool battling from behind to take the lead at half-time via a Mo Salah double before Lewis Dunk levelled for the hosts in the 78th minute.

After the points were shared, champions Man City faced last season's runners-up Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. There wasn't a goal in that encounter until Gabriel Martinelli bagged in the 86th minute, with a total of just three shots being recorded throughout.

Former Sky Sports presenter Keys predicted Liverpool would not challenge for the title before the start of the 2023-24 campaign. Yet after eight league games, he now believes that the rebuild at Anfield is 'complete' and lavished praise on the tactics that Klopp is using.

Keys wrote on his blog: “Arsenal v City. The two best teams in the league last season. It was by far the biggest game of this season. I couldn’t wait. And the nearer we got to seeing it the more excited I got.

“It should’ve been a stormer. Something for the whole world to watch and admire. The perfect advert for the best league in the world. But no - it turned out to be a bore-fest. 90+ minutes of tedium. A game often played at walking pace as centre-backs and goalkeepers put their foot on the ball and stood still.

“I said on the day - it was a game organised by two ‘clever’ coaches who tried to ‘out-clever’ each other. Two guys who must’ve looked at our league from afar, desperate to work in it because of its pace, goal action, excitement and often blood and thunder. Arteta played in it for goodness sake and in some big games as well. Games that had us on the edge of our seats. Guardiola arrived as a coach, wanting a piece of the action, but immediately set about turning us into La Liga.

“I’ve read one reason after another as to why they were so bad at Arsenal, but there are no excuses. City are the most expensive team ever assembled and they boast a front man who is arguably the best in the world. They starved him of the ball again on Sunday and he left a frustrated, disgruntled shadow of what we saw last season.

“Ok. City are enjoyable to watch if you like your football served up in precise exhibition moments. And Haaland couldn’t have had any complaints about how things went last season, but I guarantee you the way Madrid and Bellingham are playing right now won’t have escaped his notice.

“We read that City want him to sign a new deal. If what we saw Sunday goes on much longer it’ll be Haaland wanting to do the escaping. It’s one goal in six now - and it’s not his fault. He can’t score if he isn’t seeing the ball. Arsenal fans will have left the Emirates delighted with the win, but for the neutrals amongst us it was a tough watch. If I hadn’t been working I wouldn’t have watched it. That’s how bad it was.

“Thank goodness for big Ange and Klopp right now. They’re both playing expansive, exciting football. The re-build at Liverpool is complete (maybe they still need a good No6) but they’re still getting to know each other and that’s one reason why they‘re conceding too many right now - but they’re still a good watch going forward. Their first goal at Brighton was terrific - a series of one-touch fast passes right through the heart of the home team. It was vintage ‘Klopp’ Liverpool. Rock and roll.”