Martin Keown believes that Arne Slot’s decisions at Liverpool have put the team in “trouble” this season.
Last term, the Anfield outfit were the best team in England by some way, and now, they’re sitting seventh in the Premier League table.
Things may have started off going the Reds’ way when the season first kicked off, but over the last month or so, everything has gone pear-shaped.
Liverpool’s new signings haven’t settled in as well as many would have expected them to, and now, they’re paying the price.
Even with the likes of Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah leading their line, Keown has now suggested the main way that Liverpool have got themselves into trouble this term.
Martin Keown thinks that Liverpool not having enough protection in their midfield has put them in ‘trouble’
Wirtz’s Liverpool transfer was one of the most talked-about moves of the window, that is alongside the eventual arrival of Isak, of course.
Many thought that he’d easily fill the creative void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold, but in reality, that’s been far from the case.
The German may have three assists to his name now, but on the face of things, his transfer has been a failure.
And, even though Keown knows that Slot is looking for solutions to solve his issues, he still thinks that the Dutchman has made Liverpool weaker.
“He tries to make the next step. He’s looking for solutions, yeah? And in doing so, I think he’s made the team weaker, okay,” he said on the Outspoken Podcast.
“So what he’s tried to do now, [Florian] Wirtz is playing off the front. So you have a 2 and a 1 now, so you’ve got a different structure, you’ve got a different base to the midfield, you don’t have the same protection, and you’re in trouble.
“What we’ve done is that we’ve changed two defenders in the back line, so you’ve lost Alexander-Arnold, a fantastic talent, you’re not playing [Andy] Robertson, and you’ve got [Milos] Kerkez playing left-back, so two of your back four aren’t really quite at the level, they haven’t worked, the two new signings.
“Wirtz certainly hasn’t worked. Look at the top of the team, Salah stopped scoring goals, he was magnificent for many years, that hasn’t happened at the moment. And then you’ve got (Alexander) Isak, who’s come in, he’s not fit, there’s fitness issues, so it’s not a happy ship.
“Now it’s a really critical time of the season, but he tried to find solutions, he felt that teams, I think they were winning games, but it was tough, it was difficult, back end of the second half of the season.
“And he’s made a change, Jim, and he’s actually affected [the team]. I think they should go back to the way that they played last season with [Ryan] Gravenberch sitting in front.”
Arne Slot must figure out a solution to Liverpool’s poor form soon
Liverpool must get themselves into a good run of form soon.
It’s still early in the season, of course, and anything can change over the next few months, but unless they turn things around soon, it’s hard to see how they could end up retaining their Premier League title.
That was likely one of the main things that Slot wanted to do this season, with many thinking it would be easily achievable, especially with all of their new signings.
However, because so much has changed all at once, there’s no chemistry among the team, and nothing is going their way.
There are several things that Slot could still try with his first-team squad as the campaign goes on, but unless one of those solutions clicks and starts to work, the Reds could be in a whole host of trouble before the end of 2025.
There’s no knowing what the future has in store for Liverpool, but, with the way things seem to be headed, it’s hard to see when the light is going to emerge from the end of the tunnel.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
