'He's made the team weaker' - Martin Keown takes aim at Arne Slot for Liverpool slump

One player should never make a team if the squad has been built properly and Liverpool are learning the hard way in their current slump.

Arne Slot has an enviable group of players but there has been a lack of control in midfield in recent games with Ryan Gravenberch’s injury proving to be a costly one. Curtis Jones has impressed as has Dominik Szoboszlai and yet the engine room has been overrun and porous in the Premier League especially. There have been tactical changes by the manager as he looks to fit the new signings in, but is it time to go back to what has been proven to work?

Has Arne Slot made things worse at Liverpool this season?

According to Martin Keown, speaking on Talksport, Slot has been trying too hard and, instead of improving things, has made things worse: “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?

“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 (Trent) 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. I think they should go back to the way that they played last season with (Ryan) Gravenberch sitting in front.”

Is Ryan Gravenberch the missing link for Liverpool?

In a strange twist of fate, Liverpool benefited from a similar situation last season when Rodri spent much of the season missing for Man City. Good players are always difficult to replace and the defensive midfielder is more important than it has ever been. There is a fundamental difference between Gravenberch and Davies. The Netherlands international isn’t just capable of dictating the tempo of a game, he also does a lot of his best work out of possession, a quality that Davies has yet to develop to the same standard.

The compromise that might be made, once Gravenberch is back, is that Davies plays alongside the Dutchman to help gain more control in the middle of the park. Szoboszlai should also play given his form this season and because he was so important last year in the title success. Slot needs as many players as possible with the right attitude and the Hungarian’s has been exemplary. It might only be a temporary measure, but if Florian Wirtz has to play in the left in the meantime to see an in improvement in performances and results, then so be it.