Arne Slot knows Liverpool must evolve to compete with the best - Arsenal offers perfect test

A meeting between the reigning and would-be champions is a clash of styles and philosophies. While Liverpool blew everyone aside last season, now it must adapt to the new Premier League landscape

Liverpool's trip to Arsenal offers a perfect test of the Reds evolution under Arne Slot(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arne Slot could be forgiven for approaching Thursday’s trip to London with a sense of foreboding.

Arsenal away on a freezing January night is among the most daunting assignments currently imaginable in European soccer, and that’s before considering the Reds’ lacklustre performances of late.

The lack of a striker certainly doesn’t help, a fate that could befall Liverpool, remarkably, despite its near £450 million ($608M) transfer splurge last summer. Meanwhile, in a campaign dominated by set-pieces, a meeting between the division’s best and worst in that category should cause Reds to travel south with a fair degree of trepidation.

That alone is a microcosm of Liverpool’s season, and it’s not far to envisage the potential narrative that would arise from a bruising defeat at the Emirates. Many would see it as Arsenal taking an enormous step toward pinching Liverpool’s crown.

There could be a 17-point gap between the clubs on Friday morning and the fixture offers a grim reminder of how the champions’ standards have dropped this season.

Yet the Dutchman’s glass is half full. For a start, he doesn’t think defeat in the capital is a given, and for good reason. The Reds won the last encounter in August, the only game Arsenal has not scored in this season, while the leaders registered their lowest expected goals of the campaign so far on that balmy Anfield afternoon.

It wasn’t a fluke victory either, as Slot outlined in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference. “We have shown this season - Inter Milan away, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at home, Aston Villa, who have won 18 from their last 20 games and only lost to us and Arsenal, and we’ve beaten Arsenal at home, so we’ve shown that we can compete with almost every team,” he reasoned, before pointing to the 3-0 loss at Manchester City as the only game in which Liverpool has struggled to compete.

Liverpool has often enjoyed its meetings with Europe's best sides this season(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

That is the puzzling element of the Reds’ season to date. For all the frustration, this is a team still capable of trading blows with Europe’s best.

That’s why Slot still feels confident that Liverpool can still have a “special season” - which would presumably come in the form of FA Cup or Champions League success.

Liverpool could end the campaign with silverware and reclaim its place in the Champions League, all while transitioning from the squad Slot inherited from Jurgen Klopp, to the one that he hopes will be the bedrock of Liverpool’s next title-winning side.

“I am really happy with the squad we have,” opined the head coach, casually dismissing suggestions he needs to add reinforcements in January. “This season has shown how talented this group is and if everyone is available, how good a team we can be.”

Slot is pleased with how his new-look Liverpool is taking shape(Image: Getty Images)

But before considering the future, Slot must address the present. A run of nine games unbeaten has masked how alarming performances have been of late. Indeed, he faced questions on Wednesday about whether displays have become “dull and boring”.

Slot bristled at that line of inquiry but admitted he must find a way of winning matches while simultaneously playing in an attractive manner. Having stopped the rot of nine defeats in 12, that is the next stage of this team’s evolution: to recapture the standards of last season.

Yet an exact replica of the 2024/25 campaign may never be achievable. Slot has repeatedly referenced how teams have altered their style to combat Liverpool’s threats. Clearly, he is still searching for the solution.

“We have to find a way against teams that try to make it not an attractive game, which is maybe even smart for them to do. We have to find answers to that and that's something we haven't found enough yet, but we are working on that every single day to improve that.”

Arteta could be the man in inherit Slot's Premier League crown(Image: 2025 Getty Images)

Perhaps that partly explains why Liverpool has enjoyed its encounters against the league’s better sides, who are less likely to deploy the long-ball and deep blocks that Slot so detests.

That brings us back to Arsenal, a side that can both play expansively and batten down the hatches when required. “They [Arsenal] have the complete package,” Slot grudgingly admitted ahead of the encounter. “For that reason, in my opinion, they deserve to be on top this season.”

It may sting to admit, but the former Feyenoord boss could learn much from Mikel Arteta’s approach.

Thursday’s trip to the Emirates will provide another opportunity for the Reds boss to try an unpick the Liverpool enigma. Three points would certainly help, and give greater credence to his belief that the team is slowly developing.

Indeed, Liverpool’s long road back to the top could begin on Thursday when the reigning and would-be champions lock horns.