Arne Slot has an obvious answer to left wing conundrum facing Liverpool ahead of Nottingham Forest - opinion
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Arne Slot has an easy choice to make when deciding who out of Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo, and Florian Wirtz should start on the left wing versus Nottingham Forest.Amid a run of five defeats in six, the Reds are in desperate need of three points when they welcome Sean Dyche’s men to Anfield on November 22.Liverpool are predicted to beat Nottingham Forest, but given their current form, it’s imperative that Slot gets his team selection spot on.Join our newsletter for news & smart analysis. One area that has proven a key issue this season is left wing, with all of Ekitike, Gakpo and Wirtz potential options going into Saturday’s meeting.
Who will win Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest on Saturday? Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images Hugo Ekitike has struggled out wide for FranceHowever, it seems clear that the Dutchman, especially after the recent international break, has an easy choice to make for the Forest tie.Amid Alexander Isak’s return, Slot suggested Ekitike could play on the left in the future.However, the Liverpool striker was very poor for France when used out wide in a 3-1 win over Azerbaijan this past Sunday, suggesting that may not be an ideal role for him.Even if he did play well on international duty, however, Isak should not be put straight back into the eleven this weekend anyway, as he isn’t anywhere close to match fit following a lengthy lay-off.Therefore, the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt star needs to keep his place up front against Forest.Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty ImagesCody Gakpo is ignoring Arne SlotThe most natural left wing option Liverpool have right now is Gakpo.However, summer signing Milos Kerkez has struggled this season because the Dutchman is insistent on cutting inside constantly and not linking up with the advancing left-back.Slot has already called out the winger for this in a pre-Brentford press conference.He said: “We brought him [Kerkez] in as he brings a lot of energy to the game by going up and down.
He has been unlucky that Cody [Gakpo] has used his main strength of coming inside and hitting the target.“We’ve shown clips to Cody where Milos was the right option. They need to find their connection better than they already do.”However, the Dutch media slammed Gakpo for doing the same thing earlier this week, showing he has not listened to the Liverpool manager’s instructions.Florian Wirtz is the best of the bunchThat therefore leaves Wirtz as the best option to start at left wing on Saturday.The German excelled out wide against Real Madrid in the Champions League prior to the international break.More recently, Wirtz provided two assists for his country when deployed out wide against Slovakia.He may not have been at the top of his game during the Manchester City defeat, but no Liverpool player was.And given the potential pitfalls of starting Ekitike or Gakpo in that position versus Forest, it’s clear the 22-year-old should be given the nod.