5 things to expect from Arne Slot in Liverpool

Five 5 things to expect from Arne Slot in Liverpool ahead of the unveiling of the 45-year-old Dutch tactician.

Liverpool has confirmed the appointment of Arne Slot as the successor of Jurgen Klopp as they embark on a new journey in the wake of the German’s departure.

Sunday was a day of great emotion in Anfield as Jurgen Klopp said his goodbyes after more than eight years managing the club. Despite the underwhelming ending to it, fans showed their gratitude to ‘the normal one’ who had them believing again.

A challening task awaits Arne Slot but considering the story behind the rise of the Dutchman, The Reds could not have appointed a better man to take over from Klopp.

Success from the onset is never guaranteed in this circumstances, given how firmly established a couple of teams are in the English top-flight, but a new project always demands patience, and fans in Anfield will be better off with plenty of it.

In football management, Arne Slot is similar to Jurgen Klopp in many ways, which will make it easier for the player to get on quite well under him, albeit some will not be too pleased given they don’t really fit into the philosophy that even brought Klopp the success he had at the club.

We take a look at the 5 things to expect from Arne Slot once his tenure as Liverpool boss gets up and running later in the summer.

5 things to expect from Arne Slot

1. Positive impression from onset

One of the interesting 5 things to expect from Arne Slot in Liverpool is positive impression from the onset.

He already has fans in the club in his countrymen, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo. While his wonderful journey has seemingly won over fans in Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp sang his name in his Anfield farewell on Sunday, a testament of what to expect from the Dutchman, who is tipped as his country’s best manager after Erik Ten Hag in his Ajax days.

Jurgen Klopp approving his appointment is a win for the former Feyenoord boss, because the Gernan is a club favourite, and their messiah, who turned them from doubters to believers.

Albeit there had been doubts about him in the early weeks of the confirmation that he will succeed Klopp, the approval from the German on Sunday eased rising nerves, and a warm welcome awaits the 45-year-old upon arrival.

2. Strong Leadership and Man management

For any coach that will succeed in modern football, most especially at the top level, these are etiquettes such must possess and good for Liverpool, their new boss is master at these.

As a former player, assistant coach, coach and then an experienced coach, Arne Slot brings leadership qualities that will command respect in the dressing room and help guide Liverpool through the challenges of the season.

As the Aristotle saying goes “He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader,” Arne Slot’s road to getting here showed he is a man with all the best traits of leadership.

His leadership acumen is great asset in his success story so far. With this, he is able to instill the belief in the players, and thus resulting in improved performances of the team.

This was obvious in his time as assistant manager and manager in the Eredivisie, where he had AZ Alkmaar to a UEFA Champions League finish in the 2019-20 Eredivisie season.

In what was his first season as the manager having previously served as assistant, Arne Slot led AZ Alkmaar to a second place finish in the season interrupted by the Covid-19, after just 25 games were played.

His side was on the same point as first place Ajax, but trailed on goal difference. It was AZ’s highest league finish since winning the league in 2008-09 season.

His impact on his team is always visible. His influence on individual, just like his predecessor in Jurgen Klopp, makes him command so much respect amongst his players, which makes them ready to go to war for him.

Slot’s interpersonal skills and ability to build strong relationships with his players are likely to foster a positive team spirit and unity within the Liverpool squad, something the Kop is known for.

Strong leadership is one of the 5 things to expect from Arne Slot, and will be very crucial for Liverpool getting on from the era of Jurgen Klopp.

3. Belief in youth

Here, Arne Slot is also similar to Jurgen Klopp in his trust in youth players. During his eight years reign as Liverpool boss, Klopp gave chance to a lot of young players, whether signings or from the club’s Academy.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is big example of those. Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher earlier on and the likes of Jarrel Quansah, Conor Bradley and several others in his latter days.

Arne Slot has also adopted similar approach so far in his short career as a football manager. His unwavering commitment to nurturing young talent and bridging the gap between the academy and the first team can not be overemphasized.

This is because of the Dutchman’s emphasis on a cohesive playing style, which plays a pivotal role in a successful integration of academy players into the first team.

Slot recognises the importance of continuity in the team’s approach and style of play, ensuring that the young talents were well-versed in the club’s footballing philosophy from an early stage.

Teun Koopmeniers, Calvin Stengs, Quinten Timber, Myron Boadu are a few of young players, promoted or signed during his time with AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.

However, despite all, he’ll need to realize that overreliance on the youth can be detrimental to the ambition of one of the greatest European club.

He worked magic with the youth at both AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, the latter whom he led to the Europa Conference League final in his first season and help won their first league title since the 2016-17 season.

Liverpool are at that stage where they need stability from the onset under a new manager, and with the team now comprising of several young players, they can be assured of their continuity even with a change in management.

4. High-Intensity Pressing

Another similar trait Arne Slot shares with Jurgen Klopp is the high-intensity pressing approach, albeit that was not really the hallmark in the German’s later days at Liverpool.

However, their period of success under their former manager was when they pressed high and capitalize on turnovers. Unfortunately, Manchester City beat them to what could have been on multiple occasions.

Slot’s team excel when they press aggressively. The aim of this is to win the ball back quickly and create scoring opportunities. This was what Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will be known for in the streets of Liverpool, regardless of what it was in the finals seasons.

In the days the attacking trio of Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, while the midfield comprised of Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. The set-up was pivotal in Liverpool’s successful spell in the modern era.

5 things to expect from Arne Slot

The wingbacks will expected to press high, too. Under Arne Slot, the wingmen will be very engaged as Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold were during Liverpool’s successful spell.

They’ll be needed to invert to the middle of the pitch when in possession as they try to build-up play from the back, overlap to overload when in attack and underlap to create space or receive the ball.

The attacking wingers will also be needed to track back and defend when the team is pinned back by the opposition. He will be very demanding of his players, just as Jurgen Klopp was.

Arne Slot embraces the same philosophy and for Liverpool fans, it is expected that they have the deja vu feeling when they watch their club play under the Dutchman next season.

Success can not be quantified from the onset though, as it may or will take time and maybe a few different player profiles to restore the style that made the crowd in Anfield not want to leave the stadium at full time.

5. Attacking football

The former NAC Breda midfielder loves to set-up his side in a dominant 4-2-3-1 formation, and always love to have possession of the ball.

Although they tend to show high level of discipline by not overly committing into the pressing. They’d fall into a defensive block if they failed to win back possession.

Feyenoord has conceded the fewest amount of Eredivisie goals in the three seasons Slot spend at the club. With 90 goals conceded in that period, Feyenoord is the only club to not concede triple digits of goals in the competition.

Since Arne Slot took over at Feyenoord, its pressing has been the most successful of any team across Europe’s top seven leagues, with the Rotterdam club also outperforming Liverpool in this respect with 722 interceptions to 706.

In the just ended Eredivisie season, his side averaged more possession won in the final third than any other, while they also lead the way in terms of points won from losing positions with 62 — coincidentally, level with the Reds.

These show that the 45-year-old has a great flair for attacking football while keeping shape at every position of the pitch.

5 things to expect from Arne Slot in Liverpool

Aside these 5 things to expect from Arne Slot, it is also expected that the club become more effective when attacking or defending set-piece. Liverpool scored 13 times from set-piece in the Premier League last season, which isn’t to bad but they can surely do better.

Slot pays rapt attention to set-piece and Liverpool is already on the lookout for a specialist set-piece coach. His side scored 16 set-piece goals in fewer league games than Liverpool last season and surely he is not pleased with the work done by Liverpool’s former set-piece boss.

With set-piece takers like Alexis Mac Allister, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, combining with the aerial prowess of the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Jarrel Quansah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and maybe Cody Gakpo and Ibrahima Konate, the numbers are surely going to upgrade under Arne Slot.

Liverpool fans eagerly await his arrival, with expectation, more than they had upon the arrival of Jurgen Klopp more than eight years ago.

It is a new challenge for the Dutchman, who had never taken a job abroad prior to this. The support of Liverpool fans will be very crucial in helping him settle down.

Realistically, lowering their expectations earlier on will also be good to ease the pressure on him, albeit he may also be a success straight up. But fans should learn to live by what comes out of the early days.

Hassan Afolabi