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Football

06th Mar 2017

Liverpool defender swapped shirts with a supporter after Arsenal victory

Class act

Darragh Murphy

Footballers often make their way to the advertising hoardings after the final whistle to toss a match jersey to supporters.

More often than not, an eager kid benefits from the kindness of their sporting heroes and the players who do make a point of making a fan’s day ought to be applauded.

But it’s not often that you see a shirt swap take place between player and fan.

That’s precisely what took place at Anfield on Saturday evening, after Liverpool secured a vital Premier League victory over Arsenal.

Goals from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum condemned the Gunners to a 3-1 defeat, with Danny Welbeck’s strike acting as no more than consolation for the travelling Arsenal fans.

The Reds leapfrogged the visitors with the victory and defender Ragnar Klavan proved himself a class act in the wake of the win.

The Estonian centre-half made his way to the jubilant supporters after spotting a fellow countryman in the crowd.

The Liverpool Echo reports that Klavan exchanged jerseys with a supporter from his native Estonia and while we don’t know the details of the shirt which Klavan got out of the deal, it was a lovely touch from the defender.

“When I’m needed, I will be there and play, but it’s [Jurgen Klopp’s] decision what’s going to happen now,” Klavan said after the game.

“For me, it’s always when I play I give my best and try to make the decisions as difficult as possible.”

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