Liverpool's 'new Ronaldinho' can be the playmaker to help solve Jürgen Klopp's creative problem

Liverpool rarely threatened to create anything against Arsenal, but one man was at the heart of the few moments of promise that Jürgen Klopp must exploit.

Ronaldinho was probably a long way from the minds of those watching Liverpool vs Arsenal. Flair, creativity, individual genius: none of this was really on display in a turgid encounter that rightly ended goalless. However, Jürgen Klopp did have one playmaker at his disposal, and he came from the heart of defence. Unusually, it wasn’t Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman has warranted the tag of playmaker on plenty of occasions in the past, with his raking crossfield passes routinely opening up opponents. However, while Van Dijk had a solidly quiet game, it was his partner who looked as though he might make something happen in an attacking sense.

As Van Dijk continues his journey back to pre-injury levels, Joël Matip has regularly looked like the best player in the Liverpool defence this season — against Arsenal, he was probably the best player anywhere on the pitch. Fittingly enough, he could also be found almost anywhere on the pitch over the course of the full 90 minutes.