Arne Slot now has one major Liverpool priority as reality before Arsenal clear

Liverpool sits inside the top four spots in the Premier League ahead of taking on Arsenal this Thursday, with Arne Slot's side seemingly on an upward trajectory again

Liverpool is struggling under Arne Slot this season(Image: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)

When the Premier League fixture computer spat out the order of games for the upcoming season on June 18, Liverpool heading to Arsenal at the start of January looked like it could be a pivotal clash.

Arne Slot's side knew then that it would almost certainly be without Mohamed Salah thanks to AFCON. It, at that point, hoped to sign the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, but didn't know how those deals would unfold.

Around seven months later, the context of the game in London on Thursday looks markedly different. Liverpool is hoping to secure a Champions League place; an Arsenal win would cement its status as comfortably the leading title contender.

Regardless of what happens later this week, Liverpool should be able to secure a Champions League spot from here. It is currently in fourth place with a three-point buffer to Chelsea in fifth, even after successive draws against Leeds and Fulham.

Even if one of Manchester United or Chelsea manages to improve dramatically after this week's managerial changes, it seems unlikely that both would overtake Liverpool.

And even if the Reds finished fifth, that should be enough to qualify for UEFA's top competition next season. The English contingent should do enough in Europe this season to at least maintain its coefficient.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is trying to win at the Emirates(Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

But while what could be a relatively mundane race to get back into the Champions League takes place, Liverpool must take the chance of making the most of the position it finds itself in.

Quite simply, Slot's side can set itself up nicely over the next few months ahead of an important summer. It can then, in theory, start next season where it thought it would be this time around.

It is possible that a Champions League run in the next few months could inject some excitement into things. Liverpool should never be discounted in that competition, even when the team is not playing particularly well.

Florian Wirtz ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash against Fulham(Image: (Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))

Likewise, the FA Cup campaign kicks off with a home game against Barnsley on Monday, which should be won. But the success in every cup competition depends, at least in part, on some luck in the draw.

The main focus between now and May has to be getting the group of players that Slot has available into the best possible position to achieve much more next time around.

The Liverpool boss, for instance, has to find a way of getting the best from Wirtz. He has seen glimpses of that in recent weeks, but nailing down his position in the starting XI and really building around him is a must.

As part of that process, Wirtz will need to continue to build himself up physically. He and Hugo Ekitike need to reach a position with their fitness levels where they are fully integrated with the Premier League's physical nature.

At the back, Slot can decide on his best defensive set-up, getting better levels from Milos Kerkez and Ibrahima Konate, and working out the pecking order at right-back.

Out wide, he can determine the extent of the role that Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa can play beyond the summer.

With more signings to come in — and more depth required in almost all areas of the pitch — there is a need to invest in some key parts of the field.

Before that, though, Liverpool must position itself in the best way possible to ensure that this is categorically a transition season, the next campaign brings something more akin to what it thought the last few months were supposed to be.