Arne Slot tells Liverpool star of 'room for improvement' after struggling under new boss

Arne Slot, the Liverpool head coach, has expressed his delight at Darwin Nunez’s performance for Liverpool following a challenging start to the season.

Initially, Nunez was relegated to the bench as Slot favoured Diogo Jota as his primary striker.

However, when Jota sustained an injury during a match against Chelsea, Nunez seized the opportunity and scored the winning goal against RB Leipzig in the Champions League midweek match, marking his second goal of the season.

The Uruguayan forward is set to spearhead Liverpool’s attack against Arsenal, replacing Jota who is still recovering from an upper body bruise. This will be only his fifth start this season.

Slot commended Nunez’s efforts and work ethic, stating: “I think he’s put a lot of effort in and that’s the first thing you can ask of a player,” and “And it was also nice of him to score a goal against Leipzig.”

He added: “He scored a goal, which was vital, but his work-rate was also really good and I think he’s not played that many games with us. So with him there is, like the others, room for improvement in co-operation with some of the other players, but that’s normal.

“He’s very good and it’s pleasing to see that after a difficult start – because Diogo played so much for us – Darwin performed well against Chelsea and Leipzig.”

Nunez, unlike Jota who is more of a traditional poacher, brings a more physical presence to the game, akin to a battering ram.

His performance this season has been inconsistent, with his exceptional strike against Bournemouth standing out amidst other games where he’s been less noticeable.

Despite a previous disagreement, the fans are fond of him and Slot plans to adjust his tactics at Arsenal to best utilise him.

“We do adjust the gameplan to get the best from every player and as a result of that the best out of the team,” he stated. “That’s defensively, but also offensively.”

“Darwin is a different type of striker to Diogo, so we have to use his qualities there in the best possible way.”

Slot further clarified his decision to primarily position Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right, rather than allowing him to move inside to his quarter-back role as he did under Jurgen Klopp, asserting that he works well with Mohamed Salah.

“I think it’s one of the ideas we have how we want to bring the ball forward,” he explained. “That combined with the quality of Trent, not only playing on the inside, but in my opinion also making the overlaps, which Mo benefits from as well.

“That is helpful when Trent plays on the side rather than inside.

“I think it’s important other team don’t analyse us and think, ‘oh, every time they do the same. We have the answer to this.’ If we have more options for them, it’s a longer team meeting for the other manager.”