Arne Slot has been a revelation at Liverpool. Winning the Premier League title in your first season in charge – it doesn’t get much better than that. But that’s not to say he’s completely infallible.
And on Sunday, he got his biggest decision of the day wrong. Given the title is already wrapped up and there’s nothing more than pride and a few points to play for between now and May 25, there really aren’t many big calls to make now – but playing Trent Alexander-Arnold against Arsenal shouldn’t have been one of them.
Slot was absolutely right to start Conor Bradley. After all, his vice-captain has made his bed, and now he has to lie in it. But don’t then get him back up and tell him he still has a part to play in a season that, for all intents and purposes, is already over.
There was simply nothing to gain from Alexander-Arnold coming off the bench in the second half, other than him potentially playing a part in a third goal for Liverpool. As it turned out, he may have actually had a hand in the Reds conceding an equalizer.
Now, the discussion around Liverpool is no longer about a 20th league title, but rather about a player who won’t even be at Anfield in just over two weeks’ time. Everyone wants to have their say on whether fans were right or wrong to boo the 26-year-old – as if anyone outside of the Reds’ fan base has any right to tell those supporters how they should be feeling.
No matter what Slot says, Alexander-Arnold’s introduction completely changed the atmosphere inside the ground, and likely had an effect on the players on the pitch. He got it wrong. Very wrong.
Rather worryingly though, the Liverpool boss has suggested he could make the same mistake in the remaining two games this season.
“I don’t think there’s any possibility of anything taking the edge off us winning this 20th league title,” said the Liverpool head coach after the game.
(Image: PA)
“The thing I have to consider is I want to win a game of football and, if I think we can win with Trent, I owe it to his teammates and to the fans [to play him] because the club hired me to win as many games of football as possible. And if I think there’s a better chance of winning with Trent, then I will [pick him].
“If I think it’s a distraction or whatever for us not to play a good game of football, then I might, might, might make another decision. But I think Trent showed today why I brought him in because he was very close with a few fantastic crosses for us to helping us win the game.”
Well, winning isn’t everything, especially when there is nothing to gain but a few more points on an already insurmountable tally. If it was, Slot wouldn’t have made the changes he did at Chelsea the previous weekend.
Maybe Mikel Arteta’s comments during the week were playing over and over again in his head, and he wanted to prove a point. But Liverpool fans couldn’t care less about what the Arsenal boss thinks now – they had already had the last laugh this season.
All that supporters want to do now is celebrate. We saw that at Stamford Bridge, when even a 3-1 defeat couldn’t dampen the mood of the traveling supporters.
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Why then would Slot want to distract from that by not only playing Alexander-Arnold after he’s already decided he wants to leave, but potentially doing it again?
It feels like something Jurgen Klopp wouldn’t have done. As much as rivals may laugh at it, the German showed he instantly got the Anfield faithful with those celebrations after the draw with West Brom – they wanted to feel a connection with the team again, and they got it.
Perhaps that is the crucial difference between a manager and a head coach, and maybe Slot will stay more focused on matters on the pitch rather than worrying about what’s happening in the stands.
But there’s no doubt that it has an effect on players. Klopp knew it, and he wasn’t afraid of criticizing supporters if he felt they weren’t playing their part.
Slot needs to learn from his predecessor in that regard. Playing Alexander-Arnold on Sunday showed a degree of naivety from a man who has got most things right this season.
These next two games do not matter. What matters is fans get the chance to celebrate, and that means no distractions. Alexander-Arnold therefore should not play for Liverpool again, and Slot needs to make a quick U-turn.
