Arne Slot has been advised on how he could hurt Arsenal’s title chances
Arne Slot was advised on how he could harm Arsenal‘s Premier League title chances despite a 10-point gap existing between the two clubs. While Liverpool are currently on a three-match winning streak, last beating Wolves 2-1, they’ve failed to make up adequate ground on the league leaders.
A defence of their title continues to look bleak given the impressiveness of Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa who are within three points of each other. A fight for top four qualification look more likely for the Reds boss but he has been told of a way that could damage the Gunners’ opportunity to break their title drought while bolstering his own team.
Alongside Virgil van Dijk slamming the “killer” issue that has been hampering his side, Mirror Football takes a look into the biggest stories surrounding Anfield ahead of the upcoming mid-week league fixtures.
Hurting Arsenal
Arsenal remain in control to snatch the Premier League crown away from Liverpool as Mikel Arteta’s side have reigned supreme at the top of the table for 12 consecutive weeks. The Spaniard has built a well-balanced squad in north London and there’s one player in particular that has emerged as being consistently impressive – Jurrien Timber.
His defensive strength, coolness on the ball and composure has led to him being regarded as one of the world’s best in his usual position of right-back. Given Liverpool’s lack of consistency in that position with neither Conor Bradley or Jeremie Frimpong yet to stake their claim as the club’s undisputed number one in the role, Slot has been urged to sign his compatriot.
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That urging has come from ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock who told Aceodds: “In the right back position they have Frimpong, Gomez and Bradley. All three are injury prone and they are not robust enough to play week in week out and that is something they have to go away from.
“Liverpool are a better team when they have a proper right back in that position. It balances the team better and allows Szoboszlai to play in the midfield. So, I think signing a right back is equally as important as signing a centre back at the moment.
“In an ideal world I would bring in Jurrien Timber but I don’t think Arsenal would allow that. I think he is the best right back in the league. I think he is brilliant. Someone of that quality who is good in 1v1 situations. Since his ACL injury he has shown his robustness to come back.”
Van Dijk fumes
Among all the issues that Liverpool have contended with this season, their problems from set-pieces is a clear contender for being their Achilles heel. The Reds have conceded a joint-most 12 goals from set pieces in the Premier League, alongside Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.
While the form of Slot’s side has improved as of late, their knack of conceding from corners and free-kicks have continued to plague them. The issue reared its head again in their 2-1 win over Wolves when Santiago Bueno scored from a corner, following on from Richarlison’s goal last week which occurred after the Reds failed to clear a corner.
The lack of improvement from such situations was lamented from Van Dijk who labelled the issue as a “killer”. He said: “There have been plenty of games when we have defended them very well. But the fact is we’ve conceded too many set-piece goals and we don’t score enough.
“It’s something we have to improve. I would say at least 75% of the time or even more, it’s not even about the first contact. It’s the second phase that is the killer. Is it a mental thing? I hope not. If that’s in your head then it’s an issue. Personally, it’s not in my head.”
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