Slot: Mohamed Salah’s problem doesn’t worry me… The secret lies with Arnold
Dutch manager Arne Slot, manager of the English club Liverpool, confirmed that the Reds’ star player, Mohamed Salah, has been suffering from a clear problem recently.
Liverpool, the English Premier League champions last season, lost four consecutive matches before recovering with a crushing 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany in the Champions League. Salah was benched and came on for the final quarter-hour of the match.
Mohamed Salah has been suffering from a clear decline in his technical level and scoring rate, having scored only three goals in the English team’s first 12 matches this season. He was one of the leading candidates to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or, finishing fourth behind PSG star Ousmane Dembélé, the award winner, Barcelona and Spain star Lamine Yamal, and Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal midfielder Vitinha.
Liverpool are preparing for a thorny away match against Brentford on Saturday, in the ninth round of the English Premier League. This follows three consecutive defeats against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, and Manchester United, breaking a run of five consecutive wins. The defeat has left them in third place with 15 points, four points behind leaders Arsenal.
When asked about the difficulties Mohamed Salah has faced recently, the Dutch coach responded in a press conference on Friday, “It’s been a difficult time for all of us. No one in this team is used to losing, especially the experienced players.”
The Reds coach added, “I don’t know if the reason for Mohamed Salah’s missed opportunities was the player’s rhythm or something else, but players usually miss opportunities. He’s a human being. We’re not used to him missing opportunities, or to him not scoring in a number of consecutive matches, but that’s football.”
The Dutch coach, who took over in the summer of 2024, succeeding German Jurgen Klopp, continued, “The important thing is that Mohamed Salah always scores goals for our club. I’m not worried because he’ll definitely score again. He’s done it his whole life, and I expect him to score again.”
He noted, “Mohamed Salah may have been affected by playing alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold for so long, but Salah has been positioned in areas where he can score more often this season. Perhaps more so with Alexander-Arnold.”
Arne Slot concluded his remarks by saying, “Our squad has changed significantly over the past summer, and as long as that happens, all players must adapt to it, and Mohamed Salah is no exception.”
The English team enters the current season with a new attacking lineup after investing a whopping £300 million to sign German playmaker Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, Swedish striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle United, and French striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt.
In contrast, the trio left: Colombian Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, Uruguayan Darwin Nunez to Al-Hilal, and young Englishman Harvey Elliott to Aston Villa on loan. Before them, Trent Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid before the Club World Cup in the United States in early June.
Mohamed Salah and Dutch winger Cody Gakpo remain in Liverpool’s attacking line.
Salah has been subjected to fierce criticism recently from former English football stars, with former Manchester United and England star Paul Scholes describing him as “the worst player ever to be ranked as the best player in the world.”
Slot’s exclusion of Mohamed Salah from the starting lineup for the Frankfurt match caused widespread controversy. Salah had expressed his anger over the past eight years by removing Liverpool from his social media profile. He also removed a photo of himself in the Liverpool shirt, instead posting a photo of himself with his daughters, Makka and Kayan.
Aside from the Mohamed Salah crisis, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said there were some doubts about the fitness of Alexander Isak and Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch for Saturday’s match against Brentford.
Slot also confirmed that his compatriot Jeremie Frimpong would be out for a long time after suffering an injury early in Liverpool’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Liverpool’s 2025 Summer Mercato
Liverpool, under Dutch coach Arne Slot, has completed eight summer signings to strengthen the Reds’ squad for the 2025-26 season.
The English giants have signed Florian Wirtz, Jérémie Frimpong, Armin Pecsi, Milos Kerkés, Freddie Woodman, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leone, and Alexander Isak.
Through these summer signings, Liverpool is aiming to strongly defend its Premier League title, which it won last season, in addition to competing for the Champions League title.
