Join AI Pro

When Does Arne Slot Come Under Pressure?

By Steven Smith

Liverpool’s early-season optimism has quickly curdled into anxiety. What was supposed to be the natural evolution from the Klopp era is beginning to look more like a hesitant identity crisis. The same players who were meant to thrive in Arne Slot’s possession-based system now appear lost — rigid where they should be fluid, subdued where they should be expressive.

Four straight defeats in the Premier League have turned the reigning champions from title favourites into a side scrambling to stay in the top-four picture. Whatever this transition was meant to be, it isn’t working — and the cracks are widening.

A Structure Lost in Transition

Slot arrived promising balance, structure, and tactical control, with a Premier League title delivered in his first season. What has emerged since is a confused hybrid that neither replicates Klopp’s intensity nor establishes Slot’s intended dominance. The absence of Jonny Heitinga, who departed to manage Ajax, may be more significant than first thought. The Dutchman was a key conduit between the players and the manager — and without him, the communication and cohesion appear fractured.

Despite flashes of brilliance from the likes of Szoboszlai, Wirtz, and Salah, Liverpool looks disjointed and uncoordinated. The midfield lacks a genuine defensive anchor, and the full-backs — once the club’s most dynamic weapons — now feel like relics of a bygone system. The brilliance once channelled through Trent Alexander-Arnold has not been replicated, and Andy Robertson, though still committed, is visibly slowing with age. Neither has been replaced and it’s telling.

It’s hard not to question the broader strategy. Over £450 million has been spent since Michael Edwards’ return, yet the team still feels incomplete. This is not simply a dip in form; it’s a misalignment of philosophy and personnel.

Decisions Loom for Edwards and Hughes

Slot’s position is not yet under immediate threat, but conversations have definitely started. As Anfield Index’s Dave Hendrick noted this week, names like Zinedine Zidane and Simone Inzaghi have already surfaced as potential successors if the decline continues, with their immediate attainment perhaps telling. Zidane remains without a project, quietly waiting for the right moment to re-enter elite football. At the same time, Inzaghi’s spell in Saudi Arabia could make a return to Europe both desirable and feasible.

There are quieter whispers too — Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola have both been mentioned as alternative profiles who could bring a clear tactical identity back to Anfield. I believe each of these names could already be under discreet assessment by Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, who will be forced to act if the slide is not arrested by December. The notion of giving a season due to recent success will not be accepted if the decline and losses were to continue.

For all the goodwill toward Slot, football is unforgiving. Sentimentality cannot outweigh results, and Liverpool’s fall from Premier League dominance towards mid-table fragility cannot be sustained. Something must change — either in shape, in personnel, or, if needed, in leadership.

I want this team to succeed more than anything. The players remain world-class, the infrastructure is elite, and the fans are still with them. But loyalty has limits, with the end coming to everyone at some point. If Slot cannot halt this regression soon, the decision may be made for him — by the league table, if not by the boardroom.

Join AI Pro