Jurgen Klopp set to drop Salah after Liverpool's frustrating draw with Arsenal

Jurgen Klopp could drop Mohamed Salah from a crucial role at Liverpool FC after their frustrating 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.

Mohamed Salah could lose his penalty duties at Liverpool after he missed a second straight strike from the spot, almost costing the match for his side. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on Sunday confirmed that he'll "hold talks" with Salah about the same.

When Liverpool hosted Premier League leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, the Reds conceded an early goal scored by Gabriel Martinelli. Twenty minutes later, Gabriel Jesus, unmarked between Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson, produced a brilliant finish to double Arsenal's lead with a goal at the Kop End.

Salah misses penalty, again

While Salah pulled one back for Klopp's side in the first half, he missed a crucial penalty in the 54th minute, losing a golden chance to equalise at Anfield. Arsenal centre-back Rob Holding made a clumsy tackle on Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and the Reds were immediately handed a penalty.

Salah hit the ball wide to leave Liverpool fans in the stands distraught. Klopp, on the other hand, went viral as he appeared to celebrate the spot-kick before the Egyptian King missed it. And after the penalty was taken, Klopp celebrated with a fist pump assuming his man had scored. However, the groans around the stadium and the low faces of his players on the field showed the German boss that Salah had in fact missed the penalty, again.

This was Salah's second missed strike from the spot in a span of a few weeks after he missed a penalty in Liverpool's loss against Bournemouth last month.

Reacting to his initial celebration after the penalty, Klopp said: "I only saw the penalty after the game. A few people in the crowd reacted, so when you don't see the penalty, you react on what the people see and a few people obviously thought the ball was in but it wasn't. He missed the goal. So that's why for a second the fist, and then I realised, 'Oh, Mo isn't celebrating.' And then I realised the ball wasn't in. That's it.'"

Although Roberto Firmino rectified the situation with an incredible equaliser after coming off the bench late in the second half, Klopp, in a post-match interview, was quizzed about whether he would sack Salah from his penalty duties. While Klopp was hesitant to speak openly about the issue, the German boss did admit, "That's something we will talk about but not here."

Klopp has options for the penalty role

If Klopp does choose to take Salah off penalties, then there are a bunch of potential candidates who could step up to replace the Egyptian forward.

When Salah arrived at Liverpool in 2017, he "asked nicely" and took over the penalty duties from English midfielder James Milner. While the veteran player can resume his role, even Brazilian defensive midfielder Fabinho has an impressive record from the spot and is more than capable of taking up the crucial responsibility if Klopp offers it to him.

Meanwhile, in the final few minutes of the game at Anfield, Salah almost compensated for his missed penalty, but Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who had a brilliant night on Sunday, denied the former Roma star with a magnificent save. The English shot-stopper then produced another brilliant stop to frustrate Ibrahima Konate from point-blank range as Liverpool appeared desperate to find the winner in the final minutes.

Liverpool now have 44 points after 29 fixtures and are placed eighth in the 2022-23 Premier League table. The Reds are still 12 points away from the Champions League spots. They will hope to climb higher when they play their next game against Leeds United at Elland Road on April 17, before they host Nottingham Forest at Anfield on April 22.

Arsenal, meanwhile, suffered a setback in the quest to their first Premier League title since 2004. The Gunners are just six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who still have a game in hand.