Jermaine Pennant jokes about Arne Slot's decision to axe Cody Gakpo from Liverpool XI vs Galatasaray
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Jermaine Pennant has been joking about Arne Slot finally not selecting Cody Gakpo in a Liverpool starting XI.The Dutchman has become a regular feature under his countryman, but when the team news for Tuesday evening’s meeting was confirmed, Gakpo was on the bench against Galatasaray.It was a surprise to many, and caused Pennant to partake in some light-hearted jokes on social media before telling the winger, ‘we love you really’. Any changes to that XI then?
Big Gakpo call from Slot… Credit: Liverpool FC/Getty Images Jermaine Pennant jokes about Cody Gakpo being dropped in Champions LeagueAfter seeing Slot’s XI on the day, the former Liverpool forward took to X/Twitter and sarcastically wrote: “Can someone tell me the starting team?? Because phones bugging out on all apps.
They all say Gakpo is not in the starting 11.”A fan responded to Pennant, writing: “Had to keep refreshing mine @pennant83 totally thought there was something wrong going on.”The ex-Red then replied to the supporter in question, stating: “That’s tickled me. We love you really, Gakpo.”It’s easy to see why Pennant was having so much fun with the news on social media.There have been claims in recent weeks that Rio Ngumoha was doing more than Gakpo, even though he wasn’t starting games.Then, against Wolves in the FA Cup, Ngumoha was finally named in the XI, but the ex-PSV man still started in the striker role ahead of Hugo Ekitike.To date, Gakpo has only missed two Premier League games and one Champions League fixture in the 2025/26 season, all of which came when the winger was injured.Liverpool won all of those ties, facing off with Inter Milan, Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.It remains to be seen if Gakpo will be back in the XI this Sunday for the reverse fixture with Spurs, given that he’s now on a run of just one goal and no assists in nine league matches.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox