Liverpool manager Arne Slot opened himself up to the possibility that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s summer exit is partly to blame for Mohamed Salah’s notable dip in form this season.
After finishing all eight of his seasons at Anfield as the team’s top scorer, Salah’s status as the club’s undisputed talisman has come under fire in recent weeks. Dropped to the bench for each of Liverpool’s last two Champions League fixtures, the 33-year-old has only been able to muster three goals across all competitions, half as many as summer recruit Hugo Ekitiké.
Salah heads into Saturday’s trip to Brentford without a non-penalty goal in any of his previous seven Premier League appearances, the worst run of form throughout his Liverpool career, per .
The winger has been openly targeted by opponents who know he won’t track back and are now less fearful of being punished in transition.
When it was put to Slot that Salah was suffering in the absence of the rich supply line provided by Alexander-Arnold, who left Liverpool for Real Madrid in June, the Dutch boss tentatively agreed.
“Maybe his whole Liverpool [career] he played with Trent, so it could [be that],” he accepted at Friday’s press conference. “But he’s been in promising positions often enough to score goals, maybe with Trent even more. But in general, if you have quite a few changes in the summer you have to find new connections. Mo is no exception to this.”
Every meaningful attacking statistic Salah is posting represents a decline compared to last season.
