Arne Slot's SECRET weapon hints at Liverpool transfer plan

Yahoo

17 hours ago

Throughout pre-season, teams are hoping to build players fitness and integrating new players.
Liverpool's plan to achieve this has been playing two games in England and two in South East Asia.
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Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Hugo Ekitike and Armin Pecsi have all been given minutes in the set-up and we've been given an early look at Arne Slot's plans.
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But alongside getting them up to speed with Liverpool's style of play, the ambition is not for us to play exactly as we did last season to win the Premier League; in order to succeed we must evolve.
So the games we've seen this summer have not just been about bringing new dynamics to the side in terms of different personnel, but also in terms of finding different tactical approaches to utilise.
Secret weapon up Slot's sleeve
One idea that seems to be rising in popularity is the long-throw as a way to pile pressure on teams.
It was Mikel Arteta's initial thinking that gave them a new lease of life last season, although of course fans mocked them for it, claiming it was just another step in the evolution of them becoming Stoke.
But there is a genuine reason why the Gunners added it to their set-up and Slot has recognised this.
So long as it's accurate, the long-throw can be a little bit like a corner kick, creating a chance for the tall players in the opposition's box to create a threatening attack out of nowhere. It's quite genius.
This pre-season, Liverpool have been trying it out from time to time and Darwin Nunez has been one player able to benefit from the move - towering over the defenders to get an effort at goal or pass to someone outside of the crowded pack to set-up a chance. But what might this all mean long-term?
Before we signed Hugo Ekitike, the Frenchman was linked with Newcastle and if he had joined the Magpies then a 4-4-2 system alongside Alexander Isak could have been utilised by Eddie Howe.
That specific style of play would likely use long-throws because you have two tall strikers waiting to get their head on the ball during the set-plays in the box. And now you might start to see what I'm trying to get at, since Ekitike is already a Red and Isak is heavily linked with a move to Merseyside.
Of course a 4-4-2 would involve Liverpool abandoning their 4-2-3-1 set-up, with a midfielder losing out, which seems difficult to envisage given how important the engine room is to Slot's play style.
But when the team is against an opposition that has a particularly threatening attack, then two strikers and a low block might be useful to occasionally deploy, with long-throws being used.
If Isak is to join the Reds then the system does not necessarily have to change. Two strikers at in the attacking ranks feels like a pretty mundane thing for a team to have, although the transfer fees that Liverpool would have paid for them will have been significant. Nonetheless, it feels like Slot is willing to experiment with his players this season, after adjusting to Jurgen Klopp's side last season.
And to say that it's exciting to have a multi-faceted team that is capable of delivering success beyond what the Reds achieved last season is a bit of an understatement. It's genuinely tantalising.