Arne Slot's Pre Match Manchester United Press Conference | Everything You Need To Know
Premier League leaders Liverpool welcome Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday. The Reds hold a 23-point advantage over their long-time rivals in the league table despite playing a game less.
READ MORE: Arne Slot Responds To Failed Approach From Real Madrid For Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool are yet to suffer a dip in form this season as they ended 2024 on a high following an emphatic 5-0 win over West Ham United last weekend while Man United lost 2-0 to Newcastle United at home on Monday.
Arne Slot's side have been dominant against Manchester United recently, losing just one of their last 13 Premier League games and their last defeat came at Old Trafford in August 2022. Slot could become the second Liverpool boss to achieve a league double over Man United in his debut season since George Kay in 1936/37.
Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate are set to return to full training on Friday while Joe Gomez’s injury he picked up at West Ham is set to keep him out of action for several weeks.
READ MORE:Arne Slot Provides Injury Updates Ahead Of Premier League Clash With Manchester United
Ahead of the Manchester United clash, Arne Slot spoke to the media during his pre-match press conference.
Slot was asked about facing Man United
"For me, I said it before the first fixture and I can say it one more time, they have much better players, in my opinion, than maybe the league table shows at the moment. It's maybe going to take a while for Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players, I don't know, but they will definitely go up and they are much, much, much better than the league shows at the moment."
When asked about how much better he thinks Trent Alexander-Arnold can get:
"There is always room for improvement in every player. So, Mo [Salah] is 32, and he can still do things better – it's hard to say because he has such great numbers. But just before I came in, I was checking our game against West Ham and I saw at half-time Mo walking off the pitch a bit frustrated when we were 3-0 up. I think that had to do with him missing a few chances that he is not used to missing. But Trent can still improve, I think I saw a bit of improvement already this season."
"These players are top of the world, so there's not a lot of room for improvement anymore, but there's always a bit of improvement. Especially defensively, Trent, in my opinion, has made a step-up this season. I think in some games he was outstanding in every part of the game, but there's sometimes been a bit of up and down as well, in other games he could've done a bit better. So, it's about consistency for top players and that is maybe where the biggest improvement for Trent is."
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Slot was asked about whether he has spoken to Alexander-Arnold
"I speak to every player once in a while and that is for Trent the same. So, yes, I spoke to him."
When asked about whether there is a better player in the world at the moment than Mohamed Salah:
"That question I got after the West Ham game and I think it's difficult to compare players. I think if I only look at my own team, not other teams, but Virgil [van Dijk] also has an outstanding season but he doesn't have the numbers like Mo because he's a defender! It's difficult to judge players in different positions. The numbers Mo has at the moment speaks for itself.
"Mostly when we talk about the best players in the world, we talk about attackers. It's been for a long time [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo who we've spoke about. If you then simply look at the numbers and the way he is playing and the work-rate he has for the team, he is definitely a great, great player."
Slot was asked about what makes Virgil van Dijk so 'special' as a player
"I have to make a long list because the best players in the world have so many great attributes. I think Virgil has a lot of game intelligence, so he reads the game really well. He's big and strong, he's fast. I was impressed by how he is in ball possession – that was from the first session I did, I was like, 'Wow!' He can delay his choice and he can wait for the last moment to play a ball through the lines.
"He's a complete player, which is the same like Mo – otherwise you don't belong to the best players in the world or the best player in the world in your position. One of the reasons is that they hardly have anything that is not good enough.
"Of course, even for Virgil there are some things of his game we would like to see he could improve on a bit – [you're] probably going to ask me what but I'm telling Virgil this! But he's doing outstanding for us. One of the things I didn't say but I said in many other press conferences, he's also the one that leads the team from start to finish. And by start to finish I mean if we go out on the training ground, the moment I blow my whistle and the exercise starts I will hear for sure one player and that's Virgil.
"He brings a lot of positive energy to the club as well and a lot of positive energy in the group. He's done really well but that is also the standard at this club. If you don't perform like this then you're not good enough anymore to play for this club. So, they have to keep staying at these levels to play for this club and that's what they've done, Mo and Virgil."
READ MORE:Real Madrid Plan To Give Liverpool Time To Think Over Trent Alexander-Arnold Contract Situation
Slot was asked about the title-winning experience in the squad
"It's always important that you have players or staff members that know how to win things. But I would be surprised if I worked at a club like Liverpool that you would have told me, 'You don't have anyone who won the league in their career' because we are here at one of the best clubs in the world, so probably it's normal that there are players over here that have won many things in their career. "
"So, it is definitely helpful but the most [important] thing that helps us winning games is work-rate and quality of the players. Of course, sometimes it can help if you are used to winning big games. That's what's quite normal if you play at this club – that you are used to playing big games."
When asked about whether he's noticed specific moments this season where 'the players have taken it upon themselves to get through situations':
"Yeah, [the] last half hour against Newcastle, I saw players that really stepped up, a team that really stepped up. I think Southampton was a bit the same – not the League Cup game but the other one – when we were in a difficult position.
"So, definitely some moments and I can probably come up with some other games. But the one that really stands out was Newcastle. I think we had a tough first half, a tough first hour and then when Trent came in, when Dominik [Szoboszlai] came in and from the ones that stayed in the team, they found another gear and there you could see how special they are."
When asked about what he has said to Alexander-Arnold:
"I can completely understand the question that you ask it, but I think you already know the answer. These conversations I have never shared – not about Trent, not about any other [player] what I talk to them about. I just said the same about Virgil, of course there are things that Virgil can improve, I talk to him about this as well. It was a conversation as many others we had, me and Trent. Yeah, let's leave to that."
Slot was asked about whether speculation could be 'destabilising'
"If it would destabilise players at Liverpool if other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem. If you play at one of the biggest clubs in the world, everybody always – for 12 months long – is talking about you.
"Sometimes in relation to other clubs, that happens so, so, so many times for our players that if that destabilises them, then we would have really would have had a problem – not only now but in the past six months. I think there were some talks about our players also in the last six months and I don't think they destabilised them at all.
When asked about Alexander-Arnold's future this month:
"I can tell you that he's playing on Sunday – and hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half year. Everybody saw how great of a first half of a season he's had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. He played an incredible game against West Ham.
"I think we all remember that pass he gave, I think it was in the first half the pass he gave to Mo. I see him on the training ground every day working his [backside] off. He's fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday... if they don't tell me he's sick, but I don't expect them to!"
Slot was asked about having 34 shots in last season's corresponding fixture with Man United and not scoring
"The things I have said many times, if you want to win a game then you have to outwork the opponent. Then, second of all, you need a good balance in set-pieces, especially in the big games against quality players.
"Then, if that is balanced out or that is the same, then it is mostly about the quality of the players, so if you have 34 shots then that tells me that maybe you need a bit of luck as well then maybe sometimes during a game. Maybe it was also really well defended by United; I don't remember the game really well, so maybe they threw themselves every time in front of the ball – that's also part of winning games.
"We need to be in the best possible way prepared because every game in the Premier League is a difficult one, but especially a game where you face quality players that, I think, will feel this is a chance for them to make their fans proud again.
"So, if they do the same – winning at West Ham United away – the fans will like it, but it's even more important for them to win here at Anfield. Then, quality players are always dangerous if they set their mind to something, so we have to be really, really, really well prepared to beat United.
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LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli