Liverpool head coach Arne Slot will continue to rotate his starting XI for the remainder of this season, with the Premier League title already wrapped up. Last weekend, the Reds boss brought six players in for the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea.
And he has already confirmed that Conor Bradley will start against Arsenal this weekend, with the Reds looking to move on from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who announced this week that he would be departing this summer. While his destination is not yet official, the Liverpool vice-captain will be heading to Real Madrid.
“There are a lot of influences on decisions I make and one of them is losing,” Slot said during his pre-match press conference. “So I am not looking to lose all four games, but there are more things that go into a line-up than losing or rotating.
“We will see. Conor [Bradley] will start, he needs playing time, games under his belt to be prepared for next season.”
Jarell Quansah got the chance to impress last weekend but ended up making a couple of errors. Harvey Elliott was brought into midfield but didn’t really leave much of an impression.
This weekend, Liverpool will face an Arsenal side looking to cement its position in the top four, having been knocked out of the Champions League by PSG midweek.
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“It is difficult to predict but both teams will look forward to this game,” Slot said. “OK, maybe there is a bit at stake for Arsenal, top four… I assume they prefer second to third or fourth, we can only finish as first.
“It is difficult to predict if it will be edgy. There will be 22 players on the pitch of real high quality, and players off the bench with the same quality.
“It is Real v Barca at the weekend, Sporting and Benfica, Feyenoord v PSV as well, so a lot of nice games to look forward to. Unfortunately they are all on Sunday, so I miss out on most of them!”
On Quansah, Slot added: “I like that you mention he played a good game at Chelsea. Maybe the last step he has to make is consistency levels, not to be involved in the moments that happened in the last minute [conceding a penalty].
“The biggest part in us winning the league is consistency, and that is the most difficult thing for a younger player. Some, like Lamine Yamal, it is not that difficult for him!
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“Jarell has developed all season, and the next step is for him not to be involved in things like the last minute. Jarell is fast, strong, comfortable on the ball, and has all the ingredients for this club. Then, it is consistency in his performances.
“It’s so hard to play for Liverpool, for everyone, not just academy players. To play in this team, you need to be really good. He is competitive but a bit unlucky others stayed fit and had so much consistency in their levels.
“One moment can change the perception, but it can also lead to winning or losing games too. So these small details can make a big difference in a season, and that is why to play at Liverpool, Arsenal, PSG you need to do so much at a high level.”
Liverpool.com says: It would be useful for Liverpool to put down a marker against Arsenal and avoid defeat on home soil, but experimenting now while there is a rare chance makes sense. It would be nice to see Elliott get another go in midfield, perhaps with one or two more of the regular starters.
