Arne Slot’s controversial selection decision that Liverpool players didn’t like was actually spot on

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Arne Slot got a lot of things wrong during his final season as Liverpool manager, but one decision he was questioned about was actually spot on.

After Slot’s sacking at the weekend, a lot has come out about Reds players not liking the decisions he made.

One of them was moving Dominik Szoboszlai into the right-back role when Conor Bradley was injured.

Is Andoni Iraola the best option to replace Arne Slot? If not, who would you appoint?

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Dominik Szoboszlai was Liverpool’s best right-back option

Szoboszlai was Liverpool’s best player by some distance during what was a very difficult campaign for the team.

His off-field antics may have left fans questioning the Hungarian, but there can be no doubting his form on the pitch.

Yes, it is easy to see why some wanted the midfielder to be used in his preferred role, given how well he was playing.

But Bradley missed almost half the season through injury and the options behind him were not ideal.

Joe Gomez was out injured a lot, and when he did return, he wasn’t normally fit enough to start games.

Even when he was, Gomez offers very little going forward, given that he is a natural central defender.

The alternative was Jeremie Frimpong, who himself struggled to stay fit across 2025/26.

But again, when the Dutchman was available, it became very apparent that he is not suited to playing as a right-back in a back four.

Jamie Carragher thinks Frimpong should be a back-up right-winger next season, and it is hard to argue.

His strength is clearly in the final third, but unless Liverpool switch to a back-five, he isn’t good enough defensively to start as a right-back.

In turn, though Szoboszlai may have offered more as a midfielder, he was 100% the best right-back option Liverpool had available for large parts of 2025/26.

The alternative would have been playing an inexperienced full-back like Calvin Ramsay or having Frimpong get exposed defensively every week he was fit to feature.

Slot did a lot wrong this year, but in this case, more blame should be put on Richard Hughes for not buying a right-back who actually fit into a back four.