Arne Slot has wasted no time in setting expectations for the remainder of the current campaign, using Arsenal as a key reference point as he looks to prepare his side to retain the Premier League title next season
The Reds face the Gunners at Anfield this afternoon. Both teams will be looking to bounce back after Liverpool suffered a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea last weekend. While Arsenal will continue to push for second place after exiting the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain midweek.
Following Liverpool’s title-clinching win at Anfield against Tottenham Hotspur, celebrations have swept across the club, with fans and players relishing the achievement in recent weeks.
While Liverpool are simply looking to achieve 90 points by the end of the season, the Dutch coach is warning fans and players not to be complacent.
Speaking in the matchday programme Slot said: “In these moments we are reminded why we work as hard as we do and why this club means as much as it does to so many people.
“This makes winning together such an incredible experience and it is one that all of us would like to recreate in the future.
“But – and I hate to be the person who comes with a ‘but’ in a situation like this – as well as enjoying everything about our achievement, we now have to start climbing the mountain all over again.
(Image: Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“I was pleased with many elements of our performance against Chelsea, particularly the way we responded to being behind, but the fact is we lost and, as a wise man once said to me, no good can ever come of losing football games.
“That defeat gives today’s game an extra importance because ever since we were crowned champions our aim has been to end this season as strongly as we possibly can.”
Slot added: “As everyone knows, Arsenal are a very good team and along with Manchester City they were one of the benchmarks for us when I first arrived as head coach last June.
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That we have managed to finish above them is testament to the hard work and effort that has been put in by everyone at the club, on and off the pitch.
“Again, though, this is Liverpool Football Club and our aim should always be to go one better and today’s game gives us an opportunity to do this.
“For that to happen we need absolute focus and total motivation. We also need the full Anfield experience because at its best the atmosphere in this stadium will always push our players on.”
