- 4 months ago
Liverpool boss Arne Slot on their huge clash with title rivals Arsenal this weekend and the potential of further transfers in the coming days including Alexander Isak
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Good morning.
00:02Morning.
00:03Good morning.
00:04Good morning.
00:05Am I late?
00:06Yes.
00:07A little bit, yeah?
00:08Well, then it goes to Sky Sports, because I had to be there for half an hour again.
00:17True.
00:18Sorry?
00:19I'm OK.
00:20I'd imagine you're probably expecting this, and without naming names,
00:29but with Newcastle looking like they're getting a striker in,
00:32what impact does that potentially have on your own chance of adding to your squad,
00:35and in general terms anyway?
00:37How likely do you feel you are now to add further signings to your squad before that deadline?
00:43Before I answer that question, I have to ask you from Pat,
00:46because I just had an interview with him what you had for breakfast this morning.
00:49It was a donut that I kept from a game I was at the other night, that was all.
00:57I was working as a reporter at that point, yeah.
00:59So you came into the Liverpool building?
01:01With a donut, yeah.
01:02With a donut from?
01:03From another football club.
01:05Oh, OK, OK.
01:07It's very nice, by the way, you should try it.
01:09Yeah?
01:10It's too many calories.
01:11Yeah, not the most healthy.
01:13I was in a rush this morning, but what a cool thing.
01:16So, yeah. Newcastle signed, if it's true, and I have no reason not to believe what you are saying.
01:24A new number nine, so that's very nice for Eddie, because Anthony Corden is suspended,
01:29and Isaac has not been training with the team a lot, so it's nice for him to have another number nine.
01:34What about in general terms, how likely do you feel you are to answer your squad,
01:39whether it's another striker, whether it's a centre-up, whatever?
01:42No, I think I've said after Monday evening that, again, I could make a substitution that impacted the game.
01:51That's what Federico did against Bournemouth, that's what Rio did now against Newcastle.
01:57So, as always, we try to sign players that can help us,
02:02but there's no reason after the first two games to complain or to think we need more.
02:08But if we can strengthen the squad, then we will always try to do that,
02:12if it's for the right money and it's the right player.
02:14And there are only three, four days to go now.
02:18So, yeah, let's see if we do something and if we do something, what we can do.
02:24From the players that you're working with this weekend, and obviously it is a big game,
02:28what improvement do you feel you need to see that will give you the best chance
02:31of maintaining your own 100 per cent record and ending Arsenal's?
02:35No, the most simple answer to that is a lot, because we face a very strong team,
02:42that was already really good last season and I think I've improved their squad a lot during the summer.
02:48So, yeah, and if you then look at all the quality they have,
02:55but especially one thing that stands out in the season till now
02:59and what stands out in a negative way for us is that we've conceded,
03:03if I include the Bilbao game, four set-pieces.
03:06And, of course, as we all know, that's one of their strengths, not the strength,
03:10but one of their strengths, because they can play in multiple ways.
03:13You can see how well they are managed by Miguel,
03:16and they're working for five years together,
03:18because they can play almost every style there is in football,
03:20and that tells you how well managed they are.
03:23But one of their strengths is also set-pieces,
03:26and that is an area where we, if you look at Monday,
03:31when we face Newcastle we conceded two, and against Bilbao we conceded two.
03:34It's a part we need to improve.
03:36Where we, by the way, were really good at last season,
03:40so no panicking at all.
03:42We also had to defend at Newcastle 350 set-pieces,
03:45so then only conceding two is not even so bad.
03:48Obviously both games against Arsenal finished in two all draws,
03:51and I think against top four opposition or the teams that finished in the top four last season
03:56they took 11 points from a possible 18.
03:59I just wonder, even though it's such an early stage in the season,
04:02how important do you feel it is not to lose ground on a potential title rival?
04:07Nah, not so much to do with losing ground.
04:12Yeah, it has to do with losing ground, but not that we play Arsenal.
04:15So it's more in the beginning of the season you want to...
04:18Normally teams don't play their best game unless you keep the same squad completely
04:23and you add three, four, five, six, seven players.
04:26Then you can maybe expect that the team is growing even further.
04:29If you look at our situation, we've lost a few, we've added a few,
04:33so then it's not starting all the way new again.
04:36But I think it's normal that we play even better in a few weeks than we do now.
04:47But in the meantime, you can't lose ground.
04:50Not a lot.
04:52Although I do think that it's...
04:55I would be surprised if there were a point record this season in the Premier League.
05:01I would be surprised if one team gets more than 100 points
05:04because of the strength of the league.
05:06So you are able to drop once in a while a few points
05:10and still be competitive, I think, in the end of the season.
05:14But the best thing you can do is not drop points at all.
05:17Just picking up on what you said there,
05:20do you think that the league is more competitive noticeably this season
05:24than last season, based on what you just said?
05:27If that's even possible, because it was already so competitive last season.
05:31Maybe I'm wrong, but I think in general teams spent more than last season.
05:38I'm not 100 per cent sure, I'm talking about net spend,
05:41not talking about what teams spent and forget what they've sold,
05:45but in terms of net spend.
05:47Maybe I'm wrong, but last season we didn't do a lot,
05:51but I think our competitors didn't do a lot last season as well.
05:55And that's completely different this season.
05:58Obviously it's very early to...
06:00For the exception of Chelsea last season maybe,
06:02but I think Arsenal and Man City didn't do so many signings last season.
06:07So that's the difference between this season.
06:10Obviously it's very early to be making assessments and judgements
06:13and drawing any sort of firm conclusions.
06:16Arsenal have injuries as well, but what do you see as the key differences
06:19that your team will need to be aware of this time against them
06:23compared to last year with the new players they've added?
06:26Wow, I think there are a lot of similarities with both teams,
06:32so I don't think the playing style of Arsenal changed a lot
06:35with the new signings coming in.
06:37So maybe they have a different number nine than they had last season,
06:42although Jesus was also a real number nine but didn't play that much.
06:46But I think the one they have now is different to Havertz, for example.
06:50Or Trosada played last season in our home game over there.
06:57So that is more a false nine, you could say,
07:01where I think Kierkegaard is more a target man.
07:03So that's maybe a small difference where we have to know,
07:08and he makes maybe even more runs in behind than the other number nine did.
07:12But in general I see a lot of similarities between last season and this season
07:17with the style of play they have.
07:19And I think it's the same with us.
07:22Anna, it's hard to imagine a more sparkling start to his Liverpool career
07:29for a striker than Hugo Eketique.
07:32Goals in his first three important games.
07:36As a finisher, that's fantastic, but at least two of the goals,
07:40he's been the starting point with the goal against Bournemouth
07:43and also against Newcastle.
07:45How impressed have you been with him so far?
07:48And what are the facets that he has in his game that can see him make
07:52even a lot more improvement and add greater attacking elements to your game?
07:58I think he's already made a big impact, as you said, in our attacking part of our game.
08:03So not only scoring goals but also be part of build-up situations
08:08where he was someone that started the attack or was part of us starting attack.
08:13I think that is, not talking about a difference, a bit more than last season.
08:17Although when Lucio played there he was also a lot of times part of our build-up.
08:23The most simple answer to what he can improve is his match fitness.
08:28So I expect him to do even a lot more without the ball than he already does
08:36because he's already working hard.
08:38But there we can improve, which is completely normal
08:43because he has to adjust from a different league, from a different playing style.
08:48So Frankfurt wasn't pressing as much as they pressed, but not as much as we tried to do.
08:55And then coming to a different country, coming to a different league,
08:58there's a lot for him to handle.
09:02And then if we come back after the international break,
09:05it's Champions League games added to that where he was used to playing Europa League,
09:10which is also a good level but not as high as Champions League.
09:13So there is the main point of improvement, I think.
09:16Which is completely normal because he came a bit later in pre-season.
09:21So to adapt to the intensity levels without the ball,
09:26I think there are small steps to make for him.
09:30In the league games so far against Bournemouth and again against Newcastle,
09:37where Liverpool at times were really up against it,
09:40it's admirable and a real quality to find a way to win under those circumstances.
09:47But it's not sustainable, is it, throughout the season,
09:50particularly against opposition like Arsenal on Sunday.
09:53So what's the key to improving the playing strategy where you're going to have more control in games?
10:00Not playing every game at St James' Park.
10:03Or Anfield.
10:05No, I would like to play every single game at Anfield.
10:09But against the Bournemouth team where we had a hard time against last season as well,
10:14when we were 3-0 up, they just kept on coming.
10:16Which now led to a goal and all of a sudden it was a game where they had the chances last season as well.
10:22So not conceding set-pieces would also help with controlling the game a bit more,
10:29because I don't think after half-time we had control over the game,
10:32but then conceding a set-piece and then the whole stadium felt that there was something to win for them again.
10:39So, yeah, of course we can improve things, which is normal if you have to.
10:45I think it was in the charity shield where five positions were different
10:49than the main starters we had last season,
10:52and I think that hasn't changed that much against Bournemouth and also against Newcastle.
10:57So it's normal that we can still improve things,
11:00but we could even with the team of last season improve a lot of things, I can tell you.
11:03But I don't think we had any control over the game last season.
11:08In the first 15 minutes against Newcastle as well.
11:12I think we even played worse over there in that first 15 minutes.
11:16So you need to compare the right things with each other.
11:18You cannot compare the start of last season with the opposition we faced then to the start of this season.
11:23Although all the teams are very strong,
11:27but Newcastle away is, I think everybody agrees on that,
11:30one of the most difficult fixes you can have.
11:33And Arsenal at home is not any different to that.
11:39I wanted to ask you about Florian Deer.
11:43I felt like Newcastle did a really good job of denying him the ball,
11:47with their bank of five across the midfield.
11:49But he only received 19 passes compared to 34 against Bournemouth.
11:53If that situation is repeated, perhaps against Arsenal,
11:56would you like him to maybe work harder to come deeper to search for the ball?
12:00Or is Deonis more on his teammates to maybe be a bit braver in trying to pass through the lines?
12:05No, no, no.
12:07This has all nothing to do with it.
12:09The only answer I can give is what you probably know,
12:11because you're quite good at data.
12:13You started with data, this question,
12:15so you should add in this question that there was only 40 per cent ball in play in Newcastle.
12:21So then to have a lot of touches is quite difficult.
12:24And when the ball was in play, the ball was in the air.
12:27So they didn't block anything, the ball was just in the air,
12:30and it was duel after duel after duel after duel after duel.
12:35Set pieces to defence, set pieces to attack,
12:38so there was not much football over the ground.
12:41So you are talking about Florian,
12:43but I also know that Mo would have loved to touch the ball a little bit more than he did in Newcastle.
12:48But he didn't touch the ball, he touched the ball more this time in Newcastle than he did last season.
12:53And he did touch the ball more this season against Newcastle,
12:55I'm talking about Mo, than he did in the League Cup.
12:57So it's also the opposition you face,
12:59the playing style of the other team you face.
13:02And I've said last season after Plymouth,
13:05that if we would have been there with the starters,
13:07we probably also wouldn't have played a good game.
13:09And everybody was looking at me, what are you saying?
13:11No, that playing style of every ball long,
13:13every set piece thrown into your box,
13:15is a playing style where it's not so easy to play your best game.
13:20And for Florian, or for Mo, or for Hugo,
13:22I don't think Hugo touched the ball a lot.
13:24And Cody didn't touch it probably a lot as well.
13:27So 40% playing time, the last time that happened was 2010,
13:31when Stoke City faced Sam Allardyce's team.
13:33So obviously those are rare statistics.
13:37Which was that, Bolton?
13:39Blackburn.
13:40Blackburn, okay.
13:41Obviously those are rare statistics,
13:43but are you concerned that maybe some other teams might try to use that
13:46as a way of trying to keep some of your attacking players away from the ball,
13:49being more direct?
13:51Yeah, but that's also not the first time that we faced this playing style,
13:54this happened last season as well.
13:56The difficult thing for us was that,
13:59although the Newcastle players can play in a completely different style,
14:02really, really, really good as well,
14:04but this style suits them also really well,
14:06if you look at how tall most of their players are.
14:10And the deliveries, the set-pieces from Trippier are also high quality.
14:18So yeah, that makes it even more difficult.
14:21So I'm not sitting here saying that with the starters
14:24we would have had as difficult against Plymouth as we had against Newcastle,
14:28but in general it's a playing style where you constantly have to be ready for every single ball.
14:38But we can do better, it's not only the playing style,
14:43we can do better than we did at Newcastle or at Plymouth.
14:48But it's not the first time we faced this playing style.
14:52Many teams did this playing style last season as well.
14:57Last one, please.
14:59Team music, Arne, obviously a very physical game against Newcastle,
15:03I was going to check how the players have been in the intervening days
15:07and whether there are any doubts heading into the Arsenal game fitness-wise
15:10that you didn't have before?
15:12No, I don't think so.
15:14I think the positive is that Conor Bradley
15:18only had one or two training sessions before the Newcastle game,
15:22he has trained this week, the whole week,
15:25still two days to go.
15:27And McAllister started training again,
15:29so I don't think we had any injury coming out of that game.
15:33No, no.
15:34And Virgil is also OK.
15:36I think that's the main thing you would maybe question, but he's OK.
15:40OK, yeah.
15:41And one more if I can on Rio and Gamora,
15:43obviously there's been a lot of talk about him this week after his goal,
15:46what role do you see him playing for you this season?
15:50What do you see as the best way to manage him?
15:52Longer term, how far can he go?
15:54Left winger.
15:55Left winger.
15:56That's the role I see for him.
15:58Or is that not what you mean?
16:00No, no, no.
16:01On a serious note.
16:03I think this whole press conference started also with spending of us,
16:16all other clubs in the Premier League.
16:18And the nice part of it all is that then in the end the 16-year-old coming from the academy,
16:23partly Chelsea, partly ours, scores the winning goal.
16:28So that's also the beauty of football,
16:31that although we've spent a lot, sold a lot as well, there's still room.
16:37That's also the reason if we only spent a notch sold,
16:40then there was probably not room for him.
16:42But now there is room for him, is that a good way to say it?
16:46Yeah.
16:47And he can show his qualities and as things stand now,
16:51there's still room for him to show that in the upcoming game as well,
16:55because we haven't made any signings, so I think he will be on the bench again
17:01and has a fair chance of coming in if it's needed in the game.
17:08You're welcome.
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