2 weeks ago
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If losing four games in a row for the first time in 11 years is not a crisis for Liverpool, it isn't far away. And with Eintracht Frankfurt and Brentford to come this week, anything other than a swift upturn in form could have the potential to derail the Reds' season.
At this stage, Liverpool is only four points behind Arsenal. It knows, though, better than anyone, how much early momentum in a Premier League title race can impact the eventual victor.
Last season, Liverpool earned a lead and then kept it. When it won the title under Jurgen Klopp in 2019/20, it left the chasing pack in its dust as it quickly gained an insurmountable advantage.
In the likely best-case scenario for Arne Slot, Liverpool will be no further behind than it is now by the November international break comes around. In addition to Brentford, it also has to face a resurgent Aston Villa and a trip to Manchester City.
While those games will be tough, arguably the biggest problem for Slot is that there is no one element that he needs to solve. All across the pitch, there are issues — and Liverpool is now sweating on the extent of the injury that Ryan Gravenberch sustained too.
To go back to front, Giorgi Mamardashvili wasn't always convincing against Manchester United, the Liverpool defense was full of gaps and caused its own issues, and the attack was misfiring, missing chance after chance.
Slot attempted to throw on attacker after attacker in the hope of forcing a way through, but ended up with a kind of 4-1-5 formation, with Curtis Jones essentially in midfield on his own.
It is not impossible that something like that can't work as a one-off, but that is not the kind of sustainable approach that leads to a proper title push. Had Liverpool found a way to win this weekend, it would only have papered over the cracks.
Individually and collectively, Liverpool is out of form. Alexander Isak still lacks sharpness — evidenced by the tame effort that he saw saved in the first half at Anfield — and Mohamed Salah is firmly off the boil.
Florian Wirtz, for all that there are hints every now and again that he might be about to find his feet and ignite, wasn't trusted to start this game — the same as against Everton and Chelsea.
However, in that attacking trio — plus the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo and even Federico Chiesa — Liverpool has a major edge over Arsenal, at least in theory. Arne Slot's attack is undoubtedly better, again on paper rather than the current reality, than Mikel Arteta's.
Wirtz is world-class at his best while Salah and Isak were the top two goalscorers in the Premier League last season. As a group of players, the Liverpool stars are a class above their Arsenal counterparts (and Manchester City too, though Erling Haaland is a man on a mission), even if they aren't currently showing it.
Right now, Arsenal is overly reliant on set-pieces, but its success is firmly built on a strong base of defensive solidity and clean sheets. At the same time, Liverpool isn't scoring enough to pick up points — but it is capable.
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For all the talk that Slot must tighten up at the back — and, of course, that would help — it is actually his forwards that need to get into their groove.
The Liverpool defense remains a problem for Slot to solve, but even at its very best level of performance, it is never likely to match Arsenal when it comes to giving next to nothing away.
In contrast, if the Dutchman's forwards click into gear, that could be the first step towards getting back on track — outscoring teams rather than out-set-piecing them.
Given the personnel and how things have panned out so far for Liverpool this season, finding some form in the final third — which it had for the opening few fixtures — feels like a considerably more realistic solution, but it needs to come to pass before it's too late.
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