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Coming behind an iconic manager in the Premier League is not easy. At Manchester United, many have lost their teeth after Sir Alex Ferguson, from David Moyes to Louis van Gaal via José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and more recently Erik ten Hag. On the Arsenal side, Mikel Arteta was a good solution after the departure of Arsène Wenger, but Unai Emery and interim Fredrik Ljungberg had broken their teeth before. In this context, Arne Slot had a lot to do on the Liverpool side. Arriving to take over from Jürgen Klopp who spent nine seasons on the bench of the Reds for 9 titles including the 2019 Champions League and the 2020 Premier League, Liverpool’s first championship in thirty years, Arne Slot knew that he would not had no room for error.
Unknown to the general public despite his excellent work at AZ Alkmaar then at Feyenoord, the 46-year-old Dutch coach arrived in hostile territory with a lot of doubts around him. Even the now ex-Manchester United coach, Erik ten Hag, attacked him: “People have been too lyrical about Feyenoord. Feyenoord has been stable this year, but not at the top. PSV Eindhoven were two classes above in every area. In terms of ball domination, pressure, intensity, and so on. Bosz and his team have done a great job, but the rest of the club is also well organized. PSV Eindhoven was much better than the others, and even much better than Feyenoord. Unable to convince players to come during the majority of the transfer window, notably with the failure of Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Arne Slot did not arrive in an easy climate but the doubts were quickly swept away by the latter .
Arne Slot is unanimous but will pass some serious tests
Bringing defensive stability to his team which has only 6 goals conceded in the Premier League and has the best defense, Arne Slot has not hindered the Reds’ offensive sector. He also plays with 4 offensive elements in his 4-2-3-1 with Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz in support of Diogo Jota or Darwin Nunez. Among Arne Slot’s new features, we also include the increased use of Ryan Gravenberch who has had an excellent start to the season and brings real solidity to the midfield. Arne Slot and his team convince and continue to impress. “Arne Slot has done a remarkable job of imposing his authority on his new team, while operating in the shadow of his legendary predecessor. This victory, however, had all the makings of a Jürgen Klopp classic», wrote in particular the Daily Mail about him. With him, Liverpool have only had one defeat and they continue their incredible series. Indeed, since the start of his coaching career, Arne Slot has never had two defeats in a row.
“A method that seems to work. The secret is not very difficult. I was very lucky to be able to start my career at a club like AZ Alkmaar, then go to Feyenoord, then Liverpool. If I had played in a lower league team, I might have lost a few more games in a row! But you also need to develop good habits in terms of your work pace. It depends on the teams you play and the schedule you have. I have shown my players in recent years clips of Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, but I also showed them Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. This was mainly due to the intensity with which these two teams pressed, the work rate of these top professionals“, he explained to the channel YouTube Men In Blazers.
Inspired by Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp, Arne Slot rivals the first and perfectly succeeded the second. Leader of the Premier League and 2nd out of 36 in the Champions League with 3 victories in 3 matches, the Dutch coach intends to maintain this dynamic. However, if Liverpool’s start is perfect or almost perfect, the next few weeks promise to be hectic. Indeed, the Reds host Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League this Tuesday and will continue a busy period with the receptions of Aston Villa (November 9), Real Madrid (November 27) and Manchester City (December 1) as well as trips against Newcastle (December 4) and the derby against Everton (December 7). An important sequence for Arne Slot and his men who will be able to make a little more impact in the Champions League and the Premier League, but also lose weight. Liverpool’s credibility to win titles this season risks being decided over the coming weeks.
