- 6 hours ago
Slot on importance of champions league to Liverpool ahead of Sunderland trip
10/02/2026
AXA Training centre, Liverpool, UK
10/02/2026
AXA Training centre, Liverpool, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Arne, obviously, I just wonder how you feel now about the circumstances around his suspension?
00:07Is Joe Gomez ready to come in or is it a straight choice between Curtis and Ender?
00:13No, my feelings haven't changed.
00:18The moment I saw he got the red card I was disappointed not to have him against Sunderland.
00:23But on the other hand, I think the referee did what he had to do.
00:29And that's not what we like if we love football.
00:32But it's the rulebook and the referees are there to follow the rulebook.
00:37Joe has not trained with us yet.
00:41I'm expecting him to train with us today for the first time.
00:45So that's part of your question.
00:48And indeed, if Joe is not ready to start, then we are missing four players that have played on that position.
00:57But Curtis and Wata also played in their position this year.
01:01So we've had six different right full-backs this season.
01:05And this at a time when we've already spoken about the small margin for error that you have been chasing down the Champions League qualification spot now.
01:13Just wondering, how are you feeling about how perfect results need to be between now and the end of the season to achieve a top four, top five finish?
01:22Yeah, close to perfection because of the points we are behind.
01:27So we also know that it's different when you are four points behind a team that's 18th or 19th in the league,
01:33because they usually don't pick up as many points as the number three, four or five picks up.
01:37So to close the gap of four or five points towards the number three, four or five means you have to win a lot.
01:45And that's not what we've done this season a lot, so that's why that has to be better and we have to come close to perfection.
01:52And margins are indeed very small because seven minutes before the end we thought we were five points behind City,
02:00and five minutes later we were 11 points behind.
02:03And now you go to Sunderland, the only team unbeaten at home in the Premier League so far this season,
02:09what does that say about how tough it is to bounce straight back after Sunday,
02:14particularly when I'd imagine that maybe confidence has taken a bit more of it,
02:17given you can see late goals that ultimately take the game away from you?
02:21Yeah, but I have to give a lot of credit to my players because we've had so many setbacks or hits,
02:26the way you said it, so many times we didn't get what we deserved,
02:31but three days later they showed up again and brought in a good performance.
02:36Which not always led to a win, but I've said many times over here that I think
02:41there were only three halves this season where the other team was far better than us,
02:48that was Crystal Palace, that was Man City and maybe Arsenal away in the first half,
02:51although that was part of the first half.
02:54For the rest it was close to equal or we were the far better team,
02:57so that is credit to the players because they've had many, many, many setbacks this season.
03:02But it's not only that they have a good record at home, I think they've had a very good season,
03:07but the record at home I was aware of that as well.
03:10And already played against City and Arsenal at home, so that tells you how good of a season they're having
03:16and how strong and good they are at home.
03:21Given that they've only just come up from the Championship as well,
03:25is there an argument that they've probably had the best season of anybody in the Premier League so far this season?
03:31I think there are more teams that are having a very good season,
03:36so Arsenal is definitely one of them.
03:38Villa is impressive, Brentford is very impressive,
03:42but Sunderland is also impressive and maybe I forget a few as well.
03:46But it's definitely an accomplishment or very good that if you are promoted
03:57and you come into the Premier League and you do so well,
03:59that is a big compliment to their players and to their manager.
04:02Nickname is the Black Captur for Sunderland,
04:05obviously synonymous with luck and everything.
04:08Have you had bad luck this season,
04:11when any luck has come your way rather than good luck?
04:14Is that something that maybe Liverpool have missed this season?
04:18Yeah, that is always the question.
04:22It feels like that, that's for sure.
04:25I said, even if we sign a player and he's not even playing for us, he gets injured.
04:31So, yeah, sometimes it feels like that,
04:37but the moment you start to feel it's all bad luck,
04:39probably it comes to you as well,
04:41so we should keep it away as much as possible
04:43and just focus on the performance and focus on what we can do to improve it.
04:47But the amount of times that we conceded late goals in extra time
04:52is far more than usual.
04:55Yeah, the question is that bad luck or are we to blame?
04:58I think I've tried many different things,
05:01I've made defensive substitutions and the ball went in
05:04and I kept playing the same players and the ball went in,
05:07so we've tried a lot and sometimes it feels...
05:11I can fairly say that we haven't been lucky, that is definitely true.
05:15Is it then unlucky or is this part of who we are?
05:19That is something we can only find out in the upcoming three to four months.
05:24Hang on, you said that you had six different right-backs at different points.
05:29What impact do you think that's happened on your form this season,
05:32to have changed that so often?
05:34Yeah, but then you're only focused on the right full-back position.
05:37I think I've had to change in many positions as a result of,
05:41because if Dominic plays as right-back he can't play in the midfield,
05:43so you have to change the midfield.
05:45And that has gone throughout the whole team quite a lot.
05:49Difficult to measure, we were talking about bad luck,
05:53I've spoken about set-pieces, we were talking about injuries.
05:56I think this all goes into why the results have been how they've been.
06:04And I think one other main thing has been that it has took us a while
06:09before everyone was ready to play every three days at Premier League and Champions League level.
06:14But for me, we've reached that point now, because if I compare our game against City three or four months ago,
06:21where we wanted to press them in the first half, aggressive as well,
06:24now we hardly touched the ball.
06:27So the game two days ago was so much different that I think that shows how many steps we've made
06:34through all the things we went through, after all the things we went through.
06:39So yeah, that is also a reason, but there are more reasons to come up
06:45why the season has gone like this, but the main thing is to look forward.
06:51And I, from the last five, six games we've played, I get a lot of confidence from that,
06:57but we need to bring that confidence into better results.
07:04What is in a round hole? What does that mean?
07:32He's a right-backer, he's a right-backer, he's a right-backer.
07:42I think, in general, if you don't win a game,
07:47the players who are not playing become the best players of the squad.
07:51That is, I think, everywhere in the world the same.
07:54So, if the players who are starting not winning,
07:57the manager could have always better chosen another one.
08:01But, and I think this is an example of that as well.
08:07I just want to protect all my players.
08:10I've chosen other players till now,
08:14and that's also what I'm going to do tomorrow.
08:18I think his main disappointment was that we lost the game after him scoring such a great goal,
08:24and us being so close to a result.
08:27And then, of course, the emotions are also there by getting a red card and missing out on a Sunderland game,
08:37which is not good for him and not for the team.
08:51So, of course, he was, as all the others, very disappointed about the last ten minutes of the game.
09:01I want to ask you about Alisson. Since he's been at the club, his passing has been a massive asset,
09:07both in defence and attack, but in recent seasons his accuracy has dropped off a little bit.
09:12I think this season is at its lowest as he's been at the club.
09:15How big a concern is that for you? Is there anything you can do to maybe help him improve that?
09:19No, I think then you have to dive deeper into the stats because maybe he has to play more long balls now,
09:26and if he has to play more long balls, that usually doesn't help your passing accuracy.
09:32So, yeah, I'm working with him now for one and a half a year,
09:38and I've seen the same goalkeeper last season as I see this season.
09:43But yeah, sometimes stats can be helpful, sometimes they can be misleading.
09:48And I think Donnarumma didn't have that money passing accuracy last game,
09:55because both teams tried to press really high and aggressive.
09:58Yeah, that is different than when they go to a low block,
10:01then the goalkeeper can just pass it to one of his centre-backs.
10:04So, by the way, the main thing for a goalkeeper is always shot-stopping,
10:09and that's what he does really well.
10:13You mentioned obviously that players have had to deal with a lot of set-backs this season,
10:18and work and everything like that.
10:20How hard is it to, when you are suffering a set-back,
10:23keep morale high?
10:25Yeah, that's not always easy, because I don't think anyone feels that from the last 14 or 15 games,
10:33I don't even know how much exactly we've only lost two,
10:36but we have far too many draws, and a draw feels as a loss at this club as well.
10:40So, yeah, that's definitely not easy for them as well,
10:45because they know what the standards of Liverpool mean,
10:48and we are not performing to the standards of Liverpool at the moment.
10:51So they feel that disappointment,
10:53mainly because we are so close every single game.
10:58Every game it feels as if we're going to win it, but it doesn't happen.
11:02And that is probably even more difficult than when you play a game
11:08that throughout the whole game you already feel like the other team is better,
11:12or we are just not good enough, but that's not what they feel.
11:15If they play a game they feel, performance-wise,
11:19that they can compete with any other team in the league in the world.
11:22But, yeah, reality is that we don't perform to Liverpool standards.
11:29Given all the setbacks and the match look,
11:33how challenging is the season being for you personally?
11:36Did you say it's not as obvious?
11:40Yeah, that's fair to say. By a mile.
11:43Because all the other seasons I've managed, there were only positives.
11:48I don't think I've ever lost two games in a row.
11:52So it's an exception this season for me, as it is for the players.
11:57The players are not used to losing a lot or having a lot of draws.
12:01I'm not used to that as well.
12:03It's always more of a challenge after you lose a game of football
12:08to get them going again than after a win,
12:10telling them that we were not as good as they might think they are.
12:13So, yeah, this season has been more challenging for me as well.
12:17But you also take nice things out of it, how weird that may sound.
12:24Because if we are able...
12:26I also look at how much improvement we are making.
12:31So the main thing as a manager we are always looking for is the results.
12:35But it's also important that players and the team improve,
12:38because if that doesn't happen, we're even having a bigger problem over here.
12:42But in my opinion, everyone is now able, except for maybe the players who were injured,
12:47but everyone is able to play every three days at an intensity level that is needed at this club,
12:53but here in the Premier League as well.
12:56And as a result of that, I think our performances are much, much, much better than they were in the start of the season.
13:02And I don't mean the first six games maybe,
13:04but the period when we started playing a double programme,
13:07because in the first six games we only had once a double programme with Everton,
13:12now that was a difficult win.
13:14And since we went into that double programme, we started to drop so many points.
13:19How did you deal with that, knowing that it's 5-1 personally,
13:25have you done anything different?
13:27Nah, you always do something different,
13:29because you cannot compare any season with another one.
13:32And it's different, as I said, to lead the team after a loss,
13:40or after multiple losses, or after multiple draws than it is after a win.
13:44But I don't think anyone in this building would tell you that I've completely changed.
13:48No, I didn't.
13:51But it is different after a season that we're having now than all the other seasons I've managed,
13:57where we always did something special.
14:01And there's still a possibility that we can do something special this season as well.
14:07Do you have to ensure there is Champions League football here next season?
14:16Acceptable?
14:18Yes.
14:20If we don't have Champions League football, it's definitely not been an acceptable season.
14:27You talked about the model of sustainability, that relies so much on how that would have an impact on the summer plan?
14:34That's what I said, when I arrived here we could only sign Federico Chiesa,
14:39and that was after a Europa League season.
14:42So that does have an enormous impact in the way this club is run.
14:46So that is clear. I'm completely aware of that.
14:53So we don't know how about the slapping system for the time in the F Steven years is not gonna get there unless the Vogel's organization's prototype.
15:02I don't think everyone's got to know the ready to come to the next.
15:04We've got to sit cause of the Jetsp where we can do that to protest.
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