Wirtz to compensate for Alexander-Arnold’s absence at Liverpool, says Slot

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Slot Highlights Wirtz’s Creativity to Compensate for Alexander-Arnold’s Absence

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has expressed his confidence that the “creativity” of new signing Florian Wirtz can help the team compensate for the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who will join Real Madrid this summer. These statements came after Slot’s team demonstrated their potential with the new signings, valued at approximately £270 million ($358 million), in a 3-2 friendly win against Athletic Club. The goals for Liverpool were scored by their established Premier League figures, Mohamed Salah, who also missed a penalty, and Cody Gakpo. Wirtz’s first appearance at Anfield offered fans a glimpse of why the club made him their record signing, with intelligent touches and a good connection in the game, even coming close to scoring the first goal.

“I think there’s always room for improvement in every department and we’ve added, in my opinion, some extra weapons,” Slot said after the match. “Florian has a lot of creativity in the final third and we’ve lost a lot of creativity from the back with Trent’s departure.

Arne Slot
Slot added: “Trent’s centers and his ability to find the runners were special; Flo has this quality in a totally different position. He brings that creativity.” The other new signings also showed good adaptation. Jeremie Frimpong combined well with Salah, while full-back Milos Kerkez showed solidity and Hugo Ekitike demonstrated his versatility in the attacking line. Wirtz hit the crossbar before Ekitike assisted Salah to score, and Gakpo scored twice after the break, following Oihan Sancet’s equalizer for the visiting team. Liverpool faced the double match with only one recognized central defender, due to the absence of Virgil van Dijk due to illness and the injury of Joe Gomez, showing vulnerability in set pieces, where Maroan Sannadi managed to equalize after a corner. “In the other pre-season games, we have conceded too many chances, but today we have hardly conceded anything and that also pleases me,” Slot added. “So conceding two goals from set pieces in the second game is not what you want, especially if you are playing against Crystal Palace next week, who are a very strong team in set plays. That’s another thing to work on.” In both matches, Diogo Jota, who died in a traffic accident last month, was remembered, with fans applauding and singing in his honor. In the 20th minute, the game stopped and players and officials joined in the applause. The Liverpool second team won 4-1 in a previous match, after a false fire alarm evacuated the main stand before the start. 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha continued his impressive pre-season with a goal after 87 seconds. Ben Doak, three years older, also scored, along with Darwin Núñez and Harvey Elliott, two players whose future seems to be far from Anfield. Núñez, linked with Al Hilal, and AC Milan have also initiated conversations about the Uruguayan international. Elliott was the last to leave the field, sending kisses to the four stands.
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