Time to Experiment

Shall we talk about booing or tactics?

So I recorded one of my mini podcasts outside Anfield last night. It was an immediate reaction to Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal — which you can listen to here — with the main focus being atmosphere within the stadium.

That isn’t a very on-brand topic for this Substack. We spent the whole chat talking about booing. Again, not very Distance Covered. Too intangible. But it was interesting nevertheless, mainly because of the weirdness surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold right now.

Booing doesn’t usually matter within the context of winning football matches. And on this Substack, we only care about the things that matter. Like, I promise I’ll never write a piece on who deserves the captain’s armband, because who cares?

So with that in mind, let’s steer the conversation back towards actual football and what happened on the pitch over the weekend. It wasn’t a game that Liverpool had to win, and perhaps as a result, it was one that Arne Slot used to experiment.

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Last week, the Reds faced Chelsea away from home. They lost by three goals to one, partly because of the players that Slot selected. He rested a few of his biggest stars, and replaced them with second strings.

Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endō all gained the opportunity to impress against tough opposition. Slot experimented by testing the level of the individuals who have been knocking on his door asking for more minutes.

Well, against Arsenal, the Dutchman seemed more interested in conducting experiments of the tactical kind. Facing the second-best team in the country without needing to win is cool. Use it.

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So when my ears stopped ringing on Sunday night — after all of the thunderous booing that I’d endured — I rewatched the clash against Arsenal and found myself thinking about Jeremie Frimpong.

He’s been linked to Liverpool quite a lot of late. So much so that a move to Anfield genuinely seems to be on the cards for him this summer. I have thoughts on those rumours to say the least, but Slot’s build-up game would’ve suited him against the Gunners.

There wasn’t a drastic change, no. But Liverpool’s double pivot in particular appeared far more adventurous than usual when building from the back. The Reds made daredevil moves in their own defensive third, knowing they didn’t technically need to win.

Indeed, Liverpool’s build-up was pretty fluid, with Slot perhaps willing to take more of a chance with the ball now that his first Premier League title is already in the bag. He’s been pragmatic at times this term, but not over the weekend.

When Liverpool last faced Arsenal, Caoimhin Kelleher hit about 56.1 per cent of his passes longer than 40 yards. Those are called launches, and that’s a lot of them. For perspective, a Reds goalkeeper has only launched a greater percentage of his passes in one match this season, 60.7 per cent versus Paris Saint-Germain away from home.

You can watch our first goal-kick against Arsenal in that last meeting below. A risk averse approach to escaping your own defensive third. Maybe it was because the game took place at the Emirates, who knows?

But it was different on Sunday afternoon. Liverpool demonstrated an intent to play through Arsenal’s renowned press, which is arguably the best across Europe. A willingness to embrace risk.

A crucial difference was Slot’s usage of a proper midfield two, with Curtis Jones — who played the role of Alexis Mac Allister — very much in touch with Ryan Gravenberch. A connected duo.

Look at the difference in positioning from this weekend compared to our last bout against the Gunners in October.

There was an especially beautiful move after just six minutes which ended up inspiring this piece. It was all about building through the centre with five players. Jones, Gravenberch, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, and Alisson Becker.

You can watch the clip below. I want you to focus on two things. First, the fluidity of the midfield two as they offered themselves as passing options, and second, the subtle movement that Andy Robertson made by creeping up the pitch.

The Scot almost removed himself from the hard part, only getting involved once Liverpool escaped Arsenal’s pressure. Well, that’s what intrigued me. That’s what popped Frimpong into my head. And Milos Kerkez, for that matter.

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I wrote about full-back flyers about two weeks ago. You can read that post here. I was curious about the prospect of having a full-back department consisting of nothing but runners in 2025. Robertson, Frimpong, Kerkez and Conor Bradley. Mikel Arteta would never.

Well, if Slot can tweak his system ahead of next term by essentially dropping Mac Allister closer to Gravenberch, he could keep building with that central group of five players with a view to using his full-backs almost like escape routes.

Picture it. Gravenberch attracts pressure, Mac Allister joins him. They play a few passes with Alisson, Van Dijk and perhaps even Dean Huijsen if you read the back pages. And then, bang. Gravenberch finds Frimpong in acres of space on the right. Goodnight Vienna.

It’s realistic, right? I know, I’m probably getting ahead of myself here. I’m just thinking of ways in which Slot could use speedsters at full-back without suffering too much in build-up. We might have witnessed a glimpse on Sunday.

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Getting to the top is one thing. Staying there is another. With the Premier League title already wrapped up, now is all about getting better ahead of next season. Adding new layers, new variations. Adapting to life without Alexander-Arnold.

The real risk isn’t losing the ball in your own defensive third, no. It’s standing still.