Arne Slot opens up how Liverpool will cope without its biggest weapon vs Arsenal
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New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has opened up on how his side will cope without its “biggest weapon” against Arsenal, outlining both the challenge and the opportunity created by a key attacking absence. Acknowledging that Liverpool lose a major source of goals, creative threat and psychological edge, Slot admits the team cannot simply “replace like-for-like” and must instead rethink how it attacks and defends as a unit.
He explains that Liverpool will need to lean more heavily on collective patterns rather than individual brilliance, with greater emphasis on structured pressing, coordinated movement and shared responsibility in the final third. That means more midfield runners breaking the lines, wide players interchanging positions, and full-backs timing their overlaps to stretch Arsenal’s compact shape. Slot highlights set pieces and counter-pressing moments as crucial alternative routes to goal, particularly in the absence of their most reliable match-winner.
At the same time, Slot insists he will not abandon his core principles of attacking football. While there may be a stronger focus on balance and control, he rejects the idea of becoming overly cautious or “defensive” at the Emirates. Instead, he frames the situation as a test of Liverpool’s adaptability and a chance for other attackers to step out of the shadow of the missing star, both in terms of end product and leadership.
Slot also notes the psychological side of this setback, admitting that losing such an influential figure can affect confidence, but stressing that top sides must be robust enough to win big games under less-than-ideal conditions. The message to his squad is clear: the system has to be strong enough that no single absence derails it. Against an in-form Arsenal, Liverpool’s response without their biggest weapon will serve as an early measure of Slot’s ability to reshape and future-proof the team.