NewsCurtis Jones: I have to keep proving I can retain the shirt

The midfielder was withdrawn during the first half of the Reds’ clash with Real Betis in the USA last Friday as a precautionary measure.

But Jones was back in Arne Slot’s starting line-up on Wednesday night and clocked up 45 minutes of the 2-1 friendly win over Arsenal in Philadelphia.

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The No.17 told The Anfield Wrap: “I was [worried about the injury] myself at first. I had a bit of a small knee issue, I had it for a few days.

“I’ve got the same thing now but it’s fine, we’ve had scans and stuff that show it’s not going to get worse, so I can just go and play.”

Jones continued: “My aim is obviously to come around the team, to play as well as I can, and to keep hold of the shirt. I’m capable of that but I’ve got to prove that day after day, week after week, and game after game. So we’ll see.”

Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho delivered the goals that defeated the Gunners in front of a record crowd for a football fixture at Lincoln Financial Field.

Both strikes came via assists from Harvey Elliott, who played in a more advanced role with Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai deployed as a deeper-lying midfield duo.

“That’s part of the team,” said Jones of the set-up and Elliott’s display. “Harv is great in that role, if he’s allowed to go and play free a bit.

“I told him inside the game, ‘Get yourself on the ball and just try to stay high, it’s my and Dom’s job to get you the ball.’ It’s one of them where if he goes and scores or gets an assist, he can have it all; but if I’m saying I’ve run everywhere and he never got an assist, it’s another story! [Laughs]

“But that’s part of Harv’s game – he wants to score, he wants to assist, he wants to help the team and he does it great. So I’m happy for him.”