Arne Slot makes Mohamed Salah feelings clear as Liverpool boss sets record straight

Arne Slot has addressed the growing concerns around Mohamed Salah's form at Liverpool, with the winger having now gone nine Premier League games without scoring

Arne Slot has played down fears over Mohamed Salah's form at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Arne Slot has played down fears over Mohamed Salah’s form, having suggested that the misfiring Liverpool star is being judged unfairly.

Salah raised more concerns over his form this season after another disjointed performance against Nottingham Forest last weekend, which saw him substituted 13 minutes before time as the Reds went on to secure a 1-0 victory.

The Egyptian looked more than a little bemused as Slot took the decision to replace him, bringing back some memories of his outburst against the club and Liverpool’s boss back in December after he had been named on the bench for three games in a row.

Although bridges have been repaired since then, Salah’s form has continued to be a worry, with the 33-year-old having now gone nine Premier League games without scoring. Slot though insists he isn’t worried.

“He set his own standards and those are so, so, so high, and the moment he doesn’t score for a few games people are immediately surprised - that is probably the biggest compliment he can get,” Slot said in his press conference ahead of facing West Ham this weekend.

“With data, you can use it to your advantage or disadvantage, so not to use the FA Cup game, if we play a Premier League side, you could argue if that is fair. But that's the way it works: if we want to highlight something really positive, we try to forget one or two games, and if we want to highlight something negative, we can try to forget one or two games as well.

Mohamed Salah is without a goal in his last nine Premier League games(Image: Getty Images)

“Three games ago, he had an assist and a goal against a very good Premier League side in Brighton. That is a very good Premier League team for so many years.

“So that is the reality, and then you can change data and say he did not score in nine Premier League games. That is the standard he sets for himself and that is why people are surprised when things like that happen.”

Asked whether Salah is playing at the level he or Slot wants, the Liverpool boss responded: “Then I should go really detailed into his performances and that is something we do together and maybe this is not the place or time to do it.

“We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals and at this moment in time that is maybe the biggest difference in his performances and game time. But we also know, even in my time, this has happened before, I don’t know if it happened nine games in a row, but I've had these questions earlier if didn’t score for three or five, but I also know in the end he always starts scoring again.

“That is the challenge he has and we have now to make sure he starts scoring again. He is not our only attacker at this moment in time that doesn’t score as much as we are used to.

“The focus is totally on him because of everything he did for the club, but Hugo [Ekitike] and Cody [Gakpo] haven’t scored that many goals recently as well. It is a team thing which we have to improve.

“The good thing is we keep clean sheets so they don’t need to score as many, although against Qarabag we scored six and scored four against Newcastle.”