Jurgen Klopp defends Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno after Arsenal horror show

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed widespread criticism of Alberto Moreno following Liverpool's eventful 4-3 opening Premier League victory away to Arsenal last weekend. With James Milner ruled out due to a heel injury, the Spanish defender was handed a starting berth at the Emirates Stadium but endured a nightmare first-half to forget as he conceded a penalty with an inexplicably reckless challenge that pundit Gary Neville described as "garbage", and was then caught hopelessly out of position as Theo Walcott opened the scoring.

Moreno has rarely looked assured in his role at Liverpool since completing a £12m ($15.7m) transfer to Merseyside in August 2014 and was also lambasted for a woeful individual performance against former club Sevilla in May's Europa League final defeat in Basel.

Those failings have only served to further underline Klopp's desperate need to invest in a new left-back before the summer transfer window closes for business on 31 August, although the manager insists that Milner, Nathaniel Clyne and recent arrival Ragnar Klavan can all cover the position if required.

On the condemnation of Moreno, he told reporters: "I told you a lot of times I cannot be interested in criticism of other people. Alberto played, so there should be a reason for it. That's what I'm thinking about, not what other people want me to think about a player.

"I don't understand the question now, because maybe I should read more newspapers or something like this. I have absolutely no idea what we are talking about. The world is not satisfied with our left-back or what?"

Klopp was speaking in a pre-match press conference held at Melwood ahead of Saturday's clash against Burnley, a match that was originally supposed to be played at home before being switched to Turf Moor due to ongoing construction work on the new and expanded Main Stand at Anfield.

The newly-promoted Clarets have a familiar face in their ranks in the form of popular homegrown defender Jon Flanagan, who joined Sean Dyche's side on a season-long loan deal in August five months after putting pen to paper on a new contract. He will not be eligible to make his debut against parent club Liverpool this weekend and Klopp defended the decision to allow him to depart despite a lack of full-back cover.