“10 out of 10” – Former Liverpool Midfielder Rates Arne Slot’s Debut Season | OneFootball

Exclusive: Former Liverpool Midfielder Heaps Praise on Arne Slot After Premier League Title Victory

Sunday was a historic day for Liverpool as they secured the Premier League title in front of fans for the first time in 35 years as they smashed Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield. Goals from Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah secured the victory for the Reds to become champions with four games remaining.

However, it was also a historic moment for Arne Slot, who became the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League title and also the third-youngest manager to guide a side to the championship.

When the Dutchman was appointed following the shock exit of Jurgen Klopp, the pressure on the former Feyenoord head coach was immense and nobody expected such success. But here we are, with Liverpool clinching their second Premier League title in five years.

Photo: IMAGO

Former Liverpool and Everton midfielder Don Hutchison spoke exclusively to Anfield Index and shared his thoughts on Slot’s historic debut season…

“10 out of 10” Season for Slot

“We’ve seen how Arsenal struggled after Arsene Wenger. We’ve seen how Man United struggled after Sir Alex. It’s impossible to try and take over,” said Hutchison.

“He’s just calmly wafted into Liverpool. He’s done it his way off the back of Jürgen, leaving a brilliant squad behind, and it’s a 10 out of 10 job if you’ve won the title in your first year.”

Slot has effortlessly fitted into the fabric of the club, with his calmness and confidence radiating into the Reds’ performances this season. He has also seemingly improved almost every single member of the squad, with Ryan Gravenberch, Ibou Konate and Cody Gakpo perhaps being the most obvious example.

Even the Egyptian King Mohamed Salah has put in his greatest season yet, whilst Virgil Van Dijk remains as strong as ever at the heart of the defence.

Photo: IMAGO

The only slight criticism someone could have Slot’s debut season is the lack of a serious push across all four competitions, but Hutchison believes that’s nonsense…

“It’s Impossible”

“I don’t really subscribe when some people say, well, they could have won the quadruple. No one’s ever done it,” began Hutchison, “Liverpool have been in that race for the last three or four seasons. It’s impossible.”

“The games against PSG were brilliant games to watch and after watching their game against Villa, Liverpool came out of that PSG game at Anfield with a lot of credit. They’re a top-class side, PSG.”

“The Plymouth one will probably angst on Slot a little bit, because he still picked a side that was good enough to beat Plymouth, but I understood he was trying to rest players for Champions League football, so it was a dilemma.”

Photo: IMAGO

“That’s where you probably need a better squad, but the team probably let them down a little bit on the day. So that’ll angst them a little bit, but in terms of Arne Slot coming in and winning the title in your first year, I mean, it’s nigh-on impossible.”

After coasting through the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool faced a huge test against PSG. Harvey Elliott gave the Reds a shock 1-0 lead ahead of the second leg where Luis Enrique’s side would progress after a penalty shootout saw Slot’s side crash out of the competition.

Liverpool’s performance in the Carabao Cup was much more impressive as they coasted past the likes of West Ham United, Brighton, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur to book their place at Wembley. However, a really poor performance was punished by a solid Newcastle United side as Eddie Howe’s side edged out as 2-1 winners.

As Hutchison points out, Slot will be mostly frustrated by Liverpool’s defeat to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. Despite resting a lot of the usual starters, the Dutchman’s lineup for that one should’ve still been more than capable of progressing behind a Plymouth side that was rooted to the bottom of the EFL Championship at the time.

However, it has ultimately been a dream first season for Slot and this Premier League title will be cherished by Liverpool supporters across the world for many years to come.