To fully gauge the impact of Arne Slot at Liverpool since his arrival in June, you need only talk to those around his squad.
The Athletic has been told that at least three players at Anfield have said in private that Slot’s methods could have served the team well during times in recent seasons when they just missed out on the biggest prizes.
This is not to denigrate Slot’s predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, an Anfield legend who brought the club unparalleled success in the Premier League era and over a far longer period of time than the Dutchman has worked on Merseyside. The ease of the transition has also, in part, been down to Klopp laying such solid foundations.
Rather, it is an observation that they have contrasting styles — and that Slot’s quiet pragmatism may have been of benefit at times when Klopp’s brand of high-energy, ultra-intense football fell fractionally short.
Slot’s attention to detail has impressed and, like at his former clubs Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar, players have marvelled at how he predicts certain scenarios will play out during games.
It is too soon to properly judge, because Slot has a long way to go before he gets anywhere near Klopp’s achievements. But the early signs are hugely promising, with Liverpool top of the Premier League and the group phase of the Champions League.
There is no doubt Liverpool’s players and fans are convinced — but what about the rest of football?
The Athletic has spoken to multiple people within the industry — coaches, executives and backroom staff, some of whom have asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — to discover how the wider world views Slot and his remarkable start.
“Everyone in the game is so impressed with him,” says the director of one of Liverpool’s leading Premier League rivals. “He’s likeable, staggeringly understated and cool as hell. I’ve been as amazed at the success of him, as like many others. I thought Jurgen would be an extremely tough manager to follow but this man is handling himself so well.”
That view is not an isolated one. There is widespread admiration within English football at how well Slot is dealing with the demands of managing one of the world’s biggest clubs, with some sides left wondering if they missed a trick by not moving for him before Liverpool.
The 46-year-old has gone about his business in a quiet way. He works long hours at the training ground, eats most of his meals at the club and takes home a pre-cooked dinner if his schedule is tight.
He lives outside the city and has not had too many out-of-work interactions. During international breaks he has spent time back in the Netherlands with his family — who also came over to see him earlier this month, when Liverpool faced Real Madrid and Manchester City — as well as settling into life on Merseyside. It has all been remarkably stress-free.
Interactions with opposition managers have been brief but friendly. Slot is largely unflustered on the sidelines, and has avoided any major confrontations with rivals, although he has recently served a one-match touchline ban for picking up three yellow cards after his frustration at refereeing decisions bubbled over.
As a former colleague at one of his old clubs tells The Athletic: “What you’re seeing with Arne now is similar to his time at Feyenoord. Yes, he’s cool, but he’s a winner and he fights for what he believes in.”
Slot has a habit of speaking bluntly — he did not sugarcoat the reasons for taking off Jarell Quansah at half-time in his first Premier League game at Ipswich, saying it was because the 21-year-old had lost too many duels, and has since spoken of not tolerating “mediocrity” — but it does not stem from disrespect.
Jarell Quansah was taken off at half-time against Ipswich (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola, a manager Slot has admired for years, was cool enough to laugh off the possibility of any retaliation talk after Slot recently joked about the 115 charges Manchester City are facing (a quip he quickly clarified as being light-hearted).
That said, not all managers are able to shrug off his comments. In April 2023, while still at Feyenoord, Slot provoked Jose Mourinho ahead of a Europa League quarter-final against Roma by saying that while “(Roma’s) style of football achieves results, I prefer to watch Manchester City and Napoli“.
Those comments got under Mourinho’s skin and sparked a wild reaction after the game, with the Portuguese chasing after Slot, shouting ”Respect“ and ”Go to watch Napoli, watch Napoli now”. Slot, for his part, refused to take the bait, even when his side had lost 4-2 on aggregate.
The one game Liverpool have lost under Slot, at home to Nottingham Forest in September, caused a little unrest in the opposition camp because he was mistaken for talking disrespectfully of the club who finished in 17th place last season.
“Normally this team isn’t ending up in top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment,” he said — comments that did not go down well at Forest. Ever since, Slot’s supposed ‘obsession’ with losing that match has become a running joke for many Forest fans.
Slot largely has cordial relations with other managers, including Pep Guardiola (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Slot, however, appeared to be merely stating his observations as a Premier League newcomer himself, and made similar comments after wins over Ipswich and Brentford.
“Two good teams, but I’m not expecting them to be in the top six in the upcoming year,” he said, a remark which did not provoke anywhere near the same kind of scrutiny.
That, however, is an outlier. For the most part, the overriding feeling is one of respect and admiration for both Slot’s conduct and his in-game management.
It was Kieran McKenna, the Ipswich Town manager, who first highlighted this, after Liverpool had struggled with their opponents’ direct approach in the first half at Portman Road. Slot quickly found a solution, withdrawing Quansah for Ibrahima Konate, and Liverpool cruised to a 2-0 win. McKenna noted afterwards that he expected Liverpool to “have a strong season”.
Since then, similar patterns have followed. Liverpool have been far superior in the second half of games when Slot has had time to work out the opposition and devise an effective plan, one which is then communicated to his team during the half-time interval, usually with the aid of video clips and without any raised voices or loss of self-control.
A good example came against Real Madrid earlier this month, when moving Curtis Jones into a more central area allowed room for Conor Bradley to fly forward into space down the right flank. There are countless other instances.
Liverpool have played 24 games against 22 different opponents (they have faced Brighton and Southampton twice) across all competitions and have won 20 of them. According to Opta, Slot is the quickest manager to reach 20 wins in charge of an English top-flight club since William Sudell at Preston in 1888.
Staff members from one rival club noticed recently how, during a game, Slot made so many tactical changes that their own head coach struggled to adapt. Players from that same team also said the in-game changes were more frequent than the season before, when Klopp had been in charge, and made for a tougher outing.
Yet for all those tweaks, there is a recognition that Slot has not been arrogant — or misguided — enough to completely rip up a winning formula.
“With Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool were really good in transition,” Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler told reporters in October. “They played with a lot of intensity. What I see now is like that. They sprint backwards, everyone. So when they’re overplayed, you think you’re out, you break their lines. But in two seconds the situation changes completely because they all have the attitude to defend. And that’s something special.”
Liverpool’s style impressed Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
One of the reasons Liverpool placed so much faith in Slot this summer was because they believed he could find ways to develop and improve players already at the club. His job was to get those with potential who had fallen off track back into form. Ryan Gravenberch, Ibrahima Konate and Darwin Nunez were three stand-out examples and the job he has done with the first two so far shows a clear improvement.
On Sunday, Slot takes his Liverpool side to Tottenham Hotspur, the club who tried hard to sign him as the replacement for Antonio Conte in May 2023.
The qualities he has shown at Anfield — an unassuming personality, the ability to exude calm, good communication skills and a desire to play controlled, attacking football — all resonate with Spurs officials, who noted them last year as they tried to persuade Slot to leave Feyenoord.
He also appealed to Tottenham because of a commitment to promoting young talent. The club’s chairman, Daniel Levy, spoke in 2021 of the need to “select someone whose values reflect those of our great club and return to playing football with the style for which we are known — free-flowing, attacking and entertaining — whilst continuing to embrace our desire to see young players flourish from our academy alongside experienced talent.”
When it became clear that Feyenoord were not willing to listen to offers from Spurs — and Slot soon signed a new contract, in part because he was excited for the Champions League and keen to build on the 2023 Dutch title win — Spurs turned to Ange Postecoglou, who was supposed to be cut from a similar cloth.
In fact, Slot’s pragmatism seems a distinct contrast with Postecoglou’s approach — all of which makes the tactical battle in north London this weekend fascinating. The home supporters also have the chance to weigh up what could have been if Slot had considered a move 18 months ago.
Spurs were not the only club interested. Leeds United considered Slot after Jesse Marsch was sacked in February 2023. A delegation from Elland Road travelled to the Netherlands to speak to Slot’s representatives, only to find that he was happy to stay put. Leeds eventually appointed Javi Gracia and succumbed to relegation later that season.
When Liverpool came calling, however, Slot’s situation had changed. Now the rest of the league can only watch on as he shapes up a stunning first season in England.
(Top photo: Ronny Hartmann/AFP via Getty Images)
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