Fabinho: It's been tough on the bench

Cape Town - Liverpool midfielder Fabinho admits it has been difficult to watch on from the sidelines for the majority of his time at the Premier League club.

The Brazilian joined the Reds from AS Monaco in July but did not feature in any of Liverpool's opening eight league games.

He was given a starting berth in the UEFA Champions League group game against Red Star Belgrade last week, before earning his first Premier League start against Cardiff City three days later.

"This moment to adapt, it hasn't been easy, the many times you are out, there were many times I wasn't [picked]," he told ESPN.

"But I tried to learn from all this, tried to give my best during practice. The coaches were very nice to me, they didn't let me get down. I worked to be well prepared."

Asked about finally breaking into manager Jurgen Klopp's first team, the 25-year-old added: "The moment is good. I'm very happy, I hope I can keep it. I know the rate here is very high, you have to always try to keep a good performance, and in our team, we have a lot of options in the midfield.

"Of course, it's not possible to be always called, but whenever the coach needs me I want to be ready for it."

Liverpool will travel to north London to take on an in-form Arsenal side in their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.