Arne Slot explains why Joe Gomez didn’t start at right-back for Liverpool

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Joe Gomez‘s lack of involvement for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest bemused some, but Arne Slot has explained why he didn’t feature. Ibrahima Konate was again one of Liverpool’s worst players, with many feeling that Gomez deserved to start at centre-back or come in at right-back in the absence of Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong. • READ: Alexander Isak “hardly had a kick” as Ibrahima Konate “alarming” yet again But speaking in his press conference after the game, Slot revealed that the Reds’ longest-serving current player was unavailable for selection.

“I don’t think he was fully ready to start this game.” Time for Gomez to earn more minutes for Liverpool Gomez may not have been fit for Saturday’s defeat to Forest, but he must wonder what he has done wrong to earn so little playing time under Arne Slot. The 28-year-old isn’t perfect and injuries continue to hamper him, but he is an experienced figure who can do a dependable job at both centre-back and right-back if given a run of games.

Seeing Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s best player this season, thrown back into an auxiliary right-back role against Forest was frustrating, and Gomez is the more natural option there. This could be his final season at Anfield having arrived back in 2015, but like many fringe players, he merits more faith from Slot, especially with key men struggling.