Finished with Liverpool if Slot snubs Salah, and Arsenal’s childish critics… | OneFootball

One Liverpool fan fears Mo Salah’s final game might further erode his support, while Arsenal fans ask for a more mature debate over their champions…

There is also plenty of debate over the England squad, with one fan hoping the Three Lions fail because he doesn’t agree with Thomas Tuchel.

As ever, get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…

Time to move on Football isn’t really that important in the grand scheme of things. But life does have its break points. Its monuments. Moments where one era quietly ends and another begins.

Leaving school. Leaving a job. Getting married. Getting divorced. Having a child. Losing someone close.

And, strangely enough, football teams can become part of that architecture too.

Liverpool have been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. My first game was a dreadful 0-0 draw against Villa at Villa Park on 2 October 1999. I remember almost none of the football, but I remember the feeling of it all.

There were the Benitez years. Then the dark, slightly grim, permanently damp years where I cried like a little boy when we won a League Cup FFS.

Then Suarez. The almost-year. The beautiful, ridiculous chaos of it.

And finally Klopp.

God, the Klopp years.

At times we were the best team in the world. Ninety-nine points. The league title after thirty years. Three Champions League finals. Nights that felt supernatural. It might never happen again in quite that way. Liverpool will probably win leagues and European Cups again in my lifetime, I hope so anyway, but there was something about that team, that period, that felt uniquely alive.

The moments were incredible: coming back from the dead to beat Messi and Barcelona, Allison scoring in the final minute, Origi vs Everton, winning old big ears in Madrid, Klopp’s fist pumps.

Now it feels like the lights are finally going out.

Klopp leaving was the beginning. Trent going felt enormous. Now Salah and Robertson too. Next it’ll be Virg and Alisson

That team, our team, is disappearing piece by piece.

And maybe that’s why this one hurts more than it should.

Because it isn’t really about football. It’s about time passing. About realising that a chapter of your own life is over too.

So lads: I’ve loved every second of it.

And if Slot really leaves Salah on the bench, denying Anfield the chance to properly applaud one of the greatest players ever to wear the shirt, then it’ll feel like the final nail in a coffin that already has more nails in it than wood. Oliver, London

Arsenal deserve better I have followed English football for about 25 years. I have never seen such a diabolical narrative around a Premier League winner. Yes, Arsenal did not play the most entertaining football in the league and relied on tactics which are traditionally not associated with league champions. But it’s intellectually dishonest to not acknowledge and consider the context around this Arsenal season in all these hot takes being spewed.

Let’s start with the media pressure. Arsenal are the only club in the Premier League era to finish runners-up in three consecutive seasons (under Arteta and Wenger). This time around, the narrative of “Arteta must win a title or get sacked” had been formed and was actively pushed on different platforms even before the season began. It sounded ridiculous then, and it sounds ridiculous now – this was the manager that had turned the club’s fortunes completely around in the space of six or so years. Three consecutive second place finishes, while painful, demonstrated a team that was competitive and challenging for top honors. Social media, of course, magnified this narrative but even then, I can’t remember similar pressure being piled onto City (who admittedly are an established dynasty) and Liverpool (even in the 2019-2020 season where they finally broke the 30 year curse) – the two PL winners in the past few seasons. The only similarly ridiculous narrative I could think of was the “fraudiola” narrative after Pep did not win in his first season at City.

Now on to the disruptions caused by injuries. But first a disclaimer: the final injury data for the seasons isn’t yet published of course, so these numbers vary ever so slightly depending on the source. But the general argument I make should remain valid.

I realize that preferred XIs are subjective and really don’t exist in modern football anymore due to the sheer volume of games. But for argument’s sake, the preferred Arsenal XI in my view – Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Ødegaard, Saka, Trossard, Gyökeres – did not start a single Premier League game together. Ødegaard, the captain and the creative force, made 13 league starts. Arsenal lost an estimated 1,300 player-days to injury (with recorded 36 injuries to the squad) which is twice the average of the PL champions in the previous nine years. Liverpool last season, for comparison’s sake, lost 765 days across 22 injuries – the third-fewest in the division that season, with Salah playing all 38 games. The preferred XI of Liverpool (in my view) – Gakpo, Diaz, Salah, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Trent – started 22 league games last season. City, in their last title winning season, had to contend with 25 injuries. Furthermore, when you dig into injury records, Arsenal lost many key players for long periods of the season, especially in the attacking third (Odegaard, Saka, Havertz etc.). With such numbers, I can’t imagine any team maintaining its attacking fluidity and rhythm. It’s akin to Liverpool losing Salah, Szoboszlai and perhaps Jota last season – could they have delivered the same offensive numbers that they did? Who knows, but chances are they would have struggled. I know the stick with which I’ll be beaten now is that’s precisely why Arsenal built a squad. And yes, that’s correct in a sense that Arsenal got it over the line and won the title. But having squad depth doesn’t necessarily mean that a team will maintain its offensive and/or defensive fluidity despite injuries to key players. Just look at how City folded after Rodri ruptured his ACL last season (which was very unfortunate, of course).

So yes, the football was not the most eye-catching. But how do you expect to play the way you perhaps wanted to when your No.10 is constantly unavailable, all five centre-back options get injured in the same month, and you’re fielding your defensive midfielder at right-back? You don’t. You adapt. And to Arteta’s credit: he has reinvented Arsenal tactically almost every single season, from the inverted full-backs of 2022-23 to the false-nine Havertz experiment of 2023-24 to the set-piece machine of 2025-26. That adaptability is what made Arsenal champions and why I think Arsenal will continue to evolve and find a better defense-attack balance next season (given injuries are not as central a challenge).

I am a happy and excited-for-the-future Arsenal fan. I believe that Arsenal can really kick on and consolidate this success in the coming seasons with more titles. However, this psychological barrier of not winning the league for over two decades had to be broken and I don’t believe that doing so in a manner not consistent with attacking, free flowing football is a reason to take the shine off of this achievement. I would urge my fellow football lovers to make intellectually honest arguments and have constructive debates about football teams and not engage in engagement and rage baiting. COYG!!! Ahmed, Pakistani Gooner

Champions envy Some very bitter fans over the past few days, as normal. Arsenal apparently are the worst champions ever. Which is weird, because I’m pretty sure Liverpool fans were told we were the worst champions ever last year. It’s an incredible coincidence that fans that don’t like Liverpool and Arsenal also think that they are not very good champions. What a shock.

Arsenal are deserved champions. They are an incredibly good football team, which is why they are also in the Champions League final. Are they particularly exciting to watch? No. But they defend exceptionally well, they control games and they would give any team a run for their money. To everyone trying to put them down, just accept it. Arsenal are champions and they deserve it. Mike, LFC, Dubai

Arsenal retorts Yes keep the excuses coming please

RHT/TS x: “Thirdly, there are managers in the PL who are undeniably better than Arteta in terms of coaching attacking football”

22/23 Open Play Goals (yes that’s right open play) Man City – 70 Arsenal 67

3 goals is a lot though to be fair…

“the incessant diving. And it IS incessant”

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have all been booked more for diving than Arsenal in the last 5 years

Keith Reilly “They’ve scored from set pieces in 19 out of 37 games, have generally relied on a stingy defence, and play a “safety first” brand of football that fails to stir neutrals”

Arsenal have the 3rd highest xg from open play (yes open play) in the last 5 seasons, boring football indeed

“The level of opposition they’ve seen off hasn’t been vintage either”

One man’s poor opposition is another mans very competitive league. English clubs might be about to win 3 of 3 European trophies. If Pep had won would it have been “because Arsenal was poor”? Nah didn’t think so

Keep them coming please! Nobody has mentioned how lucky we were with injuries or how VAR favoured us this season. Maybe something about how we didn’t play as many games as our rivels? Its Peps last season? What else… Rob A (congrats Villa!) AFC

James Corden in flames Barring a Spurs spectacular (and with the notable exception of Villa’s win and the Spygate mirth), is it fair to say that the season has petered out a bit*? No sooner had the Bottling Cinematic Universe been extended to include a European Cup Final – leaving the professional snarks gleefully pondering a ‘Neverkusen’ scale event – than Arsenal get their anticlimactic banter-killing offscreen triumph.

Even the Cup final itself seems a bit underwhelming considering the talent involved – Artletico Calcio Storico vs a P$G that everyone respects for their quality and style but no-one really likes.

As the perineum between the end of the season and the World Cup approaches, perhaps the last intriguing question remaining is whether the recently retired Aaron Ramsey laces his boots up for Socceraid. It would certainly give things a Final Destination vibe as we get to see him hareing past big Zuu as a bunch of TOWIE NPCs needlessly try to do a Benjamin Massing on him before the Team GB legend slots it in the corner and James Corden spontaneously combusts in the stands. Make it happen, Ramz.

*Now I’m willing to accept this seems anticlimactic because my team wrapped up promotion a few weeks ago, invented fire, had the Heavyweight Champion of the World cheer us on, got an unwanted visit from Hypnotoad and are now very literally on the beach. Quarantino (Bowen to Liverpool is so obvious it won’t happen), Chairman of the Bored, ITFC

England fan wants Three Lions to fail I am an England supporter, and Tuchels team selection has led me to actively try and root against England, just so this level of stupidity isnt rewarded in life. Here are some of the stupidest decisions: – Djed over Trent: A player who publicly humiliated his manager, created a 100 problems, and generally isnt that good. Over a CL & EPL winning player, playing at Real Madrid, with an ability to inspire some great passes and crosses if required off the bench. Stupid stupid stupid.

– Stones over Maguire: Why the hell would you take an injury prone, off form, no gametime, and generally average John Stones, over Maguire who has been one of the best defenders in the league this season. English or not. Stupid stupid stupid.

– Jordan Henderson over ANYONE!: A waste of a seat on the plane, a waste of oxygen in the US, a waste of just about everything possible. There are at least 20-30 English players who should be in the list ahead of him. If you need leadership, you pick Maguire. This is the worst pick of the lot. Just outstandingly stupid.

– Ivan Toney: Surely Danny Welbeck is a much much better option, so is DCL. But this maybe you can live with if the rest of the decisions were not so abysmal.

Hope to see England wiped out in the group stages. Stupid stupid stupid selection by Tuchel. I’ve lost respect for him as a manager after this. I dont even care that much about who plays for England, but I care that stupidity isnt rewarded. This is some Amorim type bullshit. I dont see any difference between what Tuchel is doing with Trent & Maguire to what Amorim did to Mainoo. Just stupid.

Regards Aman

Tuchel shouldn’t be trusted Listening to the five live phone in and am amazed by the amount of support Tuchel is getting, it almost like people like him because he’s being an arse hole to certain players that they think are too big for their boots and sticking it up ‘em by picking sh*tter players. It feels a bit reformy.

We won’t lose because of the heat, we’ll lose because he’s picked a load of cart horse athletes and is setting up to hit teams on the break. No one is going to play a high line, there’l be no space behind. You don’t need legs, you need patience and vision or someone who can pick a pass. He has picked Hendo for a bit of keep ball, but when he’s passing back to Dan Burn and Jed Spence the ball is only going back up the pitch with an almighty hoof.

Ultimately, we’re not winning because if we win the group (I don’t think we will) we’ll probably have to beat:

Senegal, Mexico, Brazil, Argentine, Spain

If we come second

Columbia, Spain, Belgium, France, Argentina

Let that soak in. I mean if I’m wrong and we Arsenal our way through all of that it would be the ultimate World Cup win wouldn’t it?

Here’s hoping, but if not maybe the FA have Pep lined up. TA

…What a bizarre England squad. At least half a dozen players who should be nowhere near it – Spence, Stones, Quansah, Toney, Burn, Henderson – and at least the same number who are in really decent form and fit who would feel aggrieved to not have made it (Palmer, Shaw, Maguire, Welbeck, Trent). I wrote in a while ago about Trent and it bears repeating: he’s one of our few genuinely world-class players and other countries must be baffled that we can’t find a space for him and a succession of risk-averse England managers seem to have no idea how to play him.

Anyway, all I can think is that you are probably underplaying it with Phil Neville being at number 50 in the World Cup ladder. He was probably a lot closer to Tuchel’s squad than any of us could have imagined. Matt, Sheffield

You got what you wanted So many of us have spent 40yrs (+\- 20) saying we’d wish an England manager would pick a squad on form, and an 11 that could play a proper system. (Not just taking the 11 players with the biggest reputation shoehorning them onto the pitch). Well we finally got it (for the most part), so stop ya moaning.