David Lynch: Arne Slot ‘doesn’t have a clue’ how to fix this major issue at Liverpool | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Striker Problem: Lynch Questions Slot Over Isak Service

On Anfield Index’s Media Matters, Dave Davis and David Lynch turned from Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea to a recurring concern under Arne Slot, the inability to properly involve a central striker. For a club that has invested heavily in Alexander Isak, that problem is becoming impossible to ignore.

Davis raised the issue directly, noting that “Alexander Isak had just seven touches in about thirty minutes after coming on as a substitute.” His conclusion was blunt: “Arne Slot has no idea how to use him.”

He then added another detail from the same Chelsea match: “Cody Gakpo didn’t have a touch in the first twenty minutes of the game.” That lack of involvement sharpened the argument that Liverpool are not merely struggling with one player, but with the role itself.

Isak struggles for involvement

Lynch agreed with the central point. Asked whether Liverpool “have got no idea how to play with a number nine”, he replied: “No.”

For Lynch, this is not a new problem. He said it is “one of the issues that goes back to last season” and stressed: “This is not a new thing that people are getting frustrated about.”

That matters because Liverpool’s summer business was supposed to address precisely this issue. Lynch recalled how Luis Diaz had previously operated as a low-touch false nine, saying “that kind of worked” because it helped Mohamed Salah get into scoring positions.

But Lynch then dismissed the idea that this was always a deliberate system. “It’s not a tactical decision,” he said. “We can see this now because they bought two incredibly expensive number nines who never touched the ball.”

Arne Slot under scrutiny over number nine role

The strongest criticism was aimed at Slot’s inability to connect the team to its striker. Lynch said: “If Cody Gakpo’s there, if Isak’s there, if Ekitike’s there, the number nine barely touches the football.”

He then asked the key question: “Why is that?” His answer was damning: “He just doesn’t have a clue how to get the ball into them.”

Photo: IMAGO

That line goes to the heart of the concern around Liverpool’s attack. If Isak, a record-breaking signing, is receiving so little service, then the issue cannot simply be put down to individual form.

Lynch also rejected the notion that Liverpool would spend such money on centre-forwards to use them this way. “You cannot tell me that Liverpool’s recruitment hierarchy are kind of looking at this and going, yeah, we spent £125 million on Alexander Isak and we want him to have like six touches a game,” he said. “There’s no chance.”

Liverpool still searching for answers

For Lynch, the worry is that the same problem keeps reappearing without a solution. He said Liverpool are seeing “the same issues, no solutions whatsoever.”

That leaves Arne Slot with a clear tactical question. Liverpool have the centre-forwards, including Isak, but they still look unable to build attacks through them. As Lynch put it, this is “really problematic” and feeds the wider view that Slot “cannot find solutions.”