Jurgen Klopp insists Simon Mignolet remains Liverpool No 1 despite being replaced by Loris Karius in Arsenal win

• e-mail

Jurgen Klopp insisted that his shock decision to drop Simon Mignolet was a one-off and that his position as Liverpool's first choice is undiminished.

Liverpool's performance to dismantle Arsenal was spectacular, with their speed and energy bringing the reward of four unanswered goals, but a major talking point of the afternoon was Mignolet being replaced between the posts by Loris Karius.

The German had not started a Premier League game since last December but Klopp — who broke the news to Mignolet at the club's Melwood base after training on Saturday — felt Arsenal's visit offered the perfect chance to restore Karius. 

Jurgen Klopp (right) left Simon Mignolet (left) on the sidelines as Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-0

Klopp said Mignolet needed a rest ahead of the game against Arsene Wenger's Gunners

Mignolet was devastated to be dropped but his manager went to great lengths to explain he took the decision as he felt the Belgian needed a rest and said he will be back between the posts for the trip to Manchester City on September 9.

'Intensity for a goalkeeper is different,' said Klopp. 'It is not physical. It is mental. We said before the season we wanted to have three really strong ones. Simon is a clear number one. He won the race in pre-season. You can always rely on him. He is solid – a machine; 100 per cent he plays against City.

'When I told him (he was not playing), it was not that he gave me a hug and said "Thank you, boss!" but I wanted to do it and give him this rest and have Loris in this game. He did a lot of good things. He was sometimes too cool but we all need to get used to playing football in close situations.'

Loris Karius came into the side and barely had a save to make as Liverpool claimed an easy win

The 'too cool' observation stemmed from three separate incidents when Karius almost lost possession to Danny Welbeck when the ball was at his feet but otherwise Klopp stressed that he 'did a good job' and was content with his efforts.

Klopp's demeanour was a stark contrast to Arsene Wenger, who looked hollow during the two minutes and 10 seconds he spent inside Anfield's media auditorium before hurriedly leaving the building and did not attempt to hide his displeasure.

When asked what went wrong, Wenger replied solemnly: 'Everything. I think from the first minute to the last minute we were not at the level requested for such a game. Not physically, not technically, not mentally and we are punished. That's basically it.

'Of course, you can analyse the chances we gave away, but I just think overall the performance was not at the requested level. Why? That is a very difficult question to answer straight after the game.'  

Klopp was very keen to stress after the game that Mignolet remains his first choice goalkeeper