Liverpool looked good for large parts of Thursday’s friendly with Arsenal, consigning the Gunners to a 2-1 defeat.
It was not a perfect performance from the Reds, but two first-half goals were enough to get them over the line in the end.
A big reason for those two goals being scored was Harvey Elliott. The Liverpool youngster was provider for both Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho.
Both were excellent assists from Elliott, too. The second, for Carvalho, was spectacular. Nobody but the Reds No.19 saw the dinked pass through to his former Fulham teammate, but he pulled it off.
Having started both of Liverpool friendlies under Arne Slot, Elliott looks set for another season of progress at Anfield.
Arne Slot delivers Harvey Elliott verdict
During Saturday’s friendly with Real Betis, Elliott was playing alongside Dominik Szoboszlai as Liverpool’s two most advanced central players.
However, Diogo Jota’s returned availability meant that a shift in approach was necessary for the Reds.
Slot praised Jota after the game, admitting that the 27-year-old’s natural instinct as a forward was a big help to the team.
It was certainly a boon for Elliott, who was able to drop slightly deeper and play as a true No.10, safe in the knowledge that Jota would be filling the spaces a central striker is supposed to.
Despite his brilliant, game-winning pair of assists, though, it was not all good from the 21-year-old. He wasted a couple of good looking situations to punish Arsenal further.
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings vs Arsenal as Harvey Elliott shines
And speaking in his post-match press conference, Slot admitted that he thinks Elliott can do even better than he showed in Philadelphia.
“He had two great assists, but what I believe is that the team created these assists for him as well,” said the Dutchman. “Playing out from the back, getting him in the right positions – or another No.10. Then it is up to him to bring the most of these situations and he did that today with two assists.
“If I am a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could have done better,” Slot added.
“But that’s what the team is doing for him; we make sure he and the other ones like Mo and like Fabio come in the right positions where they can show their quality. Harvey did that today with two good assists.”
Arne Slot shows tough love
Some Liverpool supporters will perhaps not agree with Slot’s assessment of Elliott’s display against Arsenal.
However, having watched the game, we get where the Dutchman is coming from. There were one or two moments where Elliott hesitated too long, or picked the wrong option.
That can happen, of course, but Harvey showed how capable he is with two superb passes to set-up his teammates.
After seeing that, Slot has obviously decided that Elliott has the capability to get it right more often than not. As a result, he’s opted for the tough love approach.
In our opinion, this is actually a good sign for Harvey. It suggests that Slot rates him highly and believes he’s capable of even better. Hard worker that he is, expect the player to respond with an even better showing next time out.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
