Good afternoon! Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will be speaking to the media shortly as he prepares his side for a trip to Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend, looking to bounce back from their defeat to Manchester United prior to the international break.

One of the main topics up for debate will surely be the comments made by Raheem Sterling over his contract negotiations with the club. The England international has revealed that he rejected a £100,000 a week salary to extend his spell with the club, and that he will consider his future before continuing talks with the side at the end of the season.

Rodgers will surely also be speaking about his squad's fitness levels, with a number of them having been away on international duty in the last couple of weeks. Sterling and Adam Lallana both returned from England duty early after picking up knocks.

Liverpool have just eight matches left to overhaul the five-point gap between themselves and Man Utd. Liverpool will also face Newcastle, Hull and West Brom this month, as well as an FA Cup replay against Blackburn Rovers in just a couple of days time.

With just a couple of minutes until the manager is due, there's just time for me to remind you that we will have live coverage of this match, which is the early kickoff on Saturday, from 11.45am, plus team news, post-match reaction and loads more, so make sure you're with us on Saturday.

While we wait for Rodgers, Mamadou Sakho has been speaking about suspended defensive teammate Martin Skrtel:

The manager is ready to speak, so let's see what he has to say this week...

Straight onto Sterling, the manager says: "Obviously Raheem has come and and made his feelings clear. Now the focus will be very much on his football. If Raheem is saying that his ambition is to win trophies and be successful then it's perfectly aligned with what we're trying to do. For Raheem to be playing here, it's an honour for him to be playing here, and he understands that. What he's saying is that he's got two and a half years left on his contract and between now and the end of the season he just wants to focus on that."

Sticking with Sterling, he says: "Raheem has now been involved in the first team for two-and-a-half years. He's still got learning and developing to do on the pitch, and here's a great place for him to do that."

Asked about Sturridge's fitness, Rodgers confirms that the striker is back in training, adding: "The rest of the team is coming along fine. Jordan Henderson is back. Lucas Leiva is fine."

On the race for the top four, Rodgers admits: "We've made it difficult for ourselves, but it's still achievable. People might look at it as a must-win game [against Arsenal], but for me it's a must-perform game."

Rodgers is asked about Liverpool's record against Arsenal. He responds: "We deserved more than the point we got on that day [earlier in the season] We're really motivated to get back to winning again. It's one of the few international breaks where we've had to suffer a bit."

Back to Sterling, Rodgers says: "Liverpool is one of the superpowers of football. If the club doesn't want to sell, it won't sell. If any players ever left here, if it was Raheem or any player, it will always be at the terms of the football club. For us, it's about the nurturing of a young player, someone who still has a lot of development to come."

Rodgers is asked if money is the sticking point for Sterling. He replies: "For Raheem, it's about the football. He's made it clear that it's all about the football. He is a boy who genuinely loves his football. He can play all over the field for me, and it's been great for him in his career. He wants to concentrate on his football. Anything other than that he's always left for his representatives to deal with. I'm confident between now and the end of the season we'll find a solution to that."

On his relationship with Sterling, Rodgers says: "Our relationship is strong, which is important. He knows I'm working in the best interests of the football club and for him. For him, he's very much focused on his football now."

Turning his attention to this match, he says: "I think we went to the game being happy to play our game. I feel that our possession wasn't good enough in our last game. Positionally, we were never in position to receive the ball. We've analysed that, worked on that, we need to keep the ball better, be technically better. We'll go to Arsenal very clear on our idea of the game."

Reflecting on defeat to Man Utd, Rodgers says: "I think the performance disappointed, but we were all disappointed. We didn't do our performance justice. Our possession wasn't very good. Give credit to Manchester United, they played well in the first half."

Rodgers admits that his squad is still learning: "It's very, very difficult to maintain [form]. The result against Swansea, in the second half we were excellent. What I've got is a group of players that are very honest players, very committed. But they're also very young, still learning."

Rodgers is asked if he's already thinking about the FA Cup replay, but he dismisses it: "We've had a long two weeks to think about our next game, and for us that's Arsenal."

Rodgers is asked how much the team will miss Skrtel this weekend. He tells reporters: "We've done it before, we've had important players that haven't played. Martin is a very important player for us. I'm disappointed our appeal wasn't successful, but he can't play for three games, and hopefully there'll be a chance for other players to come in."

The final question is about Adam Lallana's fitness, but the manager insists that it's too soon to say whether the midfielder will be ready to feature this weekend, as he returns to training tomorrow.

So, that's all from Rodgers for now, so join us again Saturday to find out if Liverpool can bounce back from their defeat to Manchester United. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye!