Arne Slot addressed Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah’s contrasting form for Liverpool ahead of the Reds’ clash with Fulham
Arne Slot has admitted he fully expects Darwin Nunez to explode into life in front of goal and fulfil his potential at Liverpool. The £85m signing has only scored three times so far this season, while his performances in recent clashes with Newcastle United and Girona both came under outside scrutiny.
This prompted the Uruguayan to allude to criticism he has faced in some sections on social media following the Reds’ win over Girona.
Aware of the criticism his striker has faced, Slot insisted Nunez will keep getting chances for Liverpool as long as he continues to work hard when selected. However, he also warned the 25-year-old that he soon won’t only face the challenge of having to score goals, but also increased competition for places as Diogo Jota – who started the season as first-choice – prepares to return from injury.
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“Yeah, that’s what we are expecting because we see his quality,” Slot replied when asked if he expects to eventually click for Nunez, as it once did for prolific Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez under the Dutchman’s watch. “For me, the fans do have a lot of love for him.
“Maybe, I don’t know, I heard something about social media, maybe he got a bit of criticism but he will probably not be the first player who gets criticism on social media! That is what happens if you miss one or two chances.
“Probably if we had lost the game, then it would be that my substitutions were not good and my line-up were not good… that is what social media is all about!
“It’s true, isn’t it? If you win, it’s all brilliant, if you lose it’s all s**t! But Darwin has shown already that he is a goalscorer. He is able to do so.
“It’s just, in my opinion, it is a matter of time before he starts to score. But he is in competition with Luis Diaz, who can play as a nine as well, and Diogo Jota, who is coming back.
“This is the challenge he also faces now. It’s not only him not scoring goals, it’s also the challenge of going in competition with a few others. But if he keeps working as hard as he does, then his chances will keep coming.
“Okay, it is clear that with Darwin we would like a few more goals from him, he would like a few more himself, but in every other part of the game I am really happy with him. I fully trust him (Nunez) that the goals will come.”
While Nunez might have struggled for goals so far this season, the opposite is true of Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian scored his 16th goal of the campaign against Girona in midweek, while he also has 12 assists from 22 appearances.
However, the rest of the Reds’ ranks trail Salah somewhat. Luis Diaz is Liverpool’s second-leading goalscorer with nine goals, though only five have come in the Premier League with the last coming in September, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has set up the second-most goals with four.
While Slot admits it would be difficult to replace Salah’s output this season if his numbers dropped off or he was ruled out through injury, the Dutchman placed his faith in his squad when asked if Liverpool are at risk of over-relying on the Egyptian, as he shared his belief that they will continue to improve.
“It is not easy to replace a player like Mo Salah,” he said, when asked if his side were in danger of being over-reliant on the Egyptian. “For so many years he has had his [high] numbers but this season they are probably even higher than normal.
“But that goes for every club, if you have to replace such a special player it is not going to be easy. But if I combine the numbers of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, who are together sharing the minutes in the left wing position, they don’t come as close to Mo but they are still much higher than the five (goals) you were just mentioning.
“So it is not only the player, it is also the position you play in and what the team does to create the chances where these players can finish it off. But it is clear that the special quality of Mo is not easy to replace, if he plays as he is at the moment.
He continued: “I’m really happy with the way they are. I prefer for them to keep the level they are doing at the moment. I would already be happy if they can keep up this level.
“Because like you know and I know, we are not in a bad position at the moment in the Premier League and Champions League so that probably tells you that we do something really well.
“But if they can do better, and they are able to… I don’t hold them back! We aren’t flying but we are doing well.
“I think there is more to come from the players we have, there is more to come from the team than we have shown until now.
“But I think that is something every manager and every team feels. The longer you work with a team, the better they normally start to play and the more they are used to playing together.
“That’s not only for us, that is probably the same for a couple of others as well, that there is more to come from them as well.
“But we truly believe that we can… okay, there are a few that maybe it is not so easy to get more out of them individually – but as a team we can do better and there is definitely more to come from a few individuals, also because of their age.
“And that is the positive thing about the squad I inherited, most of them are still quite young and the best years normally are still to come.”
