Cody Gakpo makes feelings clear on Liverpool role vs Arsenal amid Hugo Ekitike uncertainty

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It's unclear whether Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike will be fit in time to face Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday, with plenty at stake at the Emirates

Cody Gakpo has said he happy to play as Liverpool's center forward against Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)

Cody Gakpo has said he is happy to continue as Liverpool’s No. 9 if Hugo Ekitike is ruled out of the Reds’ trip to Arsenal on Thursday.

Liverpool faces the league leaders in the final match of the midweek round of fixtures, but heads to the capital with a minor injury crisis. Ekitike’s knock, coupled with Alexander Isak’s long-term injury, means the Reds may have no fit center forwards for the encounter at the Emirates.

That was also the case against Fulham on Sunday, with Gakpo deputizing as a central striker. He scored the Reds’ second goal in the 2-2 draw, bundling the ball over the line from Jeremie Frimpong’s cross, and will likely lead the line again at Arsenal if Ekitike is deemed not fit, with Arne Slot revealing in Wednesday’s press conference that the Frenchman remains a doubt.

“I enjoyed it. It was a long time ago for me that I played there,” Gakpo admitted, when reflecting on his stint up front in a recent club interview.

"It was good.

"I can do whatever the team asks me to do, and I will do whatever I can to be the best version of myself and to try to help the team as much as I can."

Gakpo started as center forward in Liverpool's recent draw at Fulham

Gakpo’s goal at Craven Cottage was actually his 10th of the season for club and country, in what many view as an underwhelming campaign for the 26-year-old.

“That's a good achievement for myself, but I think the main focus from me, and the whole team, is the situation here, and I think we can do so much better than we are showing,” said Gakpo.

“Everybody knows what we did last season, but I think we as a team also feel the quality we have, and we sometimes show [it] in games and especially in training, but that has to come out in every game.

“Then it's not about the figures, but the enjoyment we will have on the pitch and to show everybody what we can do.”

Turning his attention to the Arsenal match, Gakpo added: “I think the game itself is very big, but regarding our situation as well, it's a big game for us to show what we can do.

“We try to do that the whole season, and sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't.

"But I think [with] the situation we are in it really has to work in this game.

"In some [different] ways it's a big game."