Arne Slot's latest comments on Liverpool appear to hold relevance for the ongoing scrutiny surrounding Arsenal
12:00, 05 Feb 2026
Arne Slot's latest comments could easily be seen as a veiled dig at Arsenal after previous words on set-pieces and style of play
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Arne Slot's latest comments could easily be seen as a veiled dig at Arsenal after previous words on set-pieces and style of play(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal are under yet more scrutiny for their style of play it appears as Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has come out with some interesting comments. Despite not directly mentioning the Gunners, the comments cut close to the bone for the north London club, given the rhetoric that has circled them this season.
The Dutchman was asked a question on the Reds Roundtable podcast this week on what the best piece of advice he had received was to which Slot said: “As a manager, you can win the league, Champions League, the FA Cup or the League Cup but the biggest thing you can win is that you can play the nicest football to watch.
"Although, at this moment in time, fans might argue a little bit. It is absolutely something that I am aiming for. I always want to have the ball, I want it to be intense and want the fans to like what they see.
"Not all of our fans see it as a joy to watch, and the hardest thing is I even understand, I agree with them. Trophies is one thing but being a team, club or a manager that stands for good football, is, in the long-term, worth more."
Liverpool remain in both the FA Cup and Champions League but are out of the League Cup and no longer a realistic contender for the Premier League either, despite being champions. Slot has spoken already this season on how open his side looked at the beginning of the campaign, when a bad run ended their hopes of back-to-back titles before they could truly begin.
"It [going defensive to be less open] does go against my beliefs," he said. "But I've won games in the past - Man City away for example [last season] - where it went against my beliefs, but it was necessary to play it in the second half.
"I would be more than open to adapt in certain situations. But I don't think the story is we concede chance after chance after chance, and we're too open. It's not like this.
"Maybe against Palace when in the first half we should have be 2-0 down or 3-0 down, maybe Brentford too. But all the other games, we deserved more than what we got.”
Mikel Arteta was bullish ahead of the game against Chelsea, which they would win 1-0 to progress to their first major final since 2020, when asked about the scrutiny of the Gunners’ perceived style which lacks “excitement.”
"I hear completely the opposite: all around Europe that we are the most exciting team in Europe - the most goals, the most clean sheets, the most this. Maybe I have different resources,” Arteta bit back.
He has a point as Arsenal are top of the Premier League table with the second-most goals scored (46), seven more than Liverpool. The Gunners also won eight from eight in the Champions League, scoring the most goals (23), three more than Liverpool, and ten of which came against Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
They’re now in the League Cup final after putting four past Chelsea over two legs, where they will face Manchester City. The Gunners put five past their title rivals in last season’s win at the Emirates Stadium and will be the favourites going into the clash at Wembley.
Arsenal have done this while playing, on average, the highest defensive line in the league, while playing against, on average, the deepest defensive line in the league. Perhaps the perception of Arsenal’s style needs to broaden and look instead more to their opponents.
Consider that Chelsea’s Liam Rosenior rocked up at the Emirates, a goal down on aggregate, and set up with a back three with wing backs, a system that had not secured victory against an Arteta side in nearly a year when West Ham won 1-0 at the Emirates in February 2025. Unsurprisingly, they failed to score and produced just two shots on target, neither of which were particularly threatening attempts.
Whether Slot was making a veiled jibe at the likes of Arsenal is debatable, but he has made reference to Arsenal’s set-piece prowess in the past. He said at the end of September: "I see teams in the Premier League that win games by set-pieces and we lose games by set-pieces."
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He added in October: "The league leaders have scored 60% of their goals from set pieces, and yet we're one point behind. It's not that bad."
The gap has now increased to 14 points after 24 games. The Gunners have faced the Reds twice, drawing 0-0 at the Emirates and lost by a single goal, ironically a set-piece, at Anfield.
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