Liverpool's Salah Stumbles: Slot Points to a Tactical Shake-Up Behind Arnold’s Rise
24 October 2025
The Struggle for Salah
The Dutch coach Arne Slot, Liverpool’s manager, says Mohamed Salah, the Reds’ star, is facing a clear problem in recent weeks.
Liverpool, last season’s Premier League champions, had four straight defeats before a resounding 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, where Salah came on for the final 15 minutes of the match.
Egypt’s captain has shown a noticeable dip in form and goal rate, with only three goals from the first 12 league games this season, despite being among the Ballon d’Or contenders for 2025, finishing fourth behind Ousmane Dembélé, Lamine Yamal, and Vitinha.
Brentford Challenge and a Changing Squad
Liverpool head to Brentford on Saturday for a tough away outing, after losses to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United, snapping a run of five straight wins and dropping to third on 15 points, four behind Arsenal.
Asked about Salah’s struggles, Slot told reporters it was a hard moment for all of us and stressed that no one in the squad is used to losing, especially the veterans.
He added that missing chances can happen to anyone, and Salah is human after all.
Slot insisted Salah still scores for the club and is confident he will find the net again, because that’s what he does in his career.
The coach also suggested Salah may have benefited from playing alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, though the Egyptian has frequently found spaces that keep him in goal-scoring positions this season, perhaps more so with Arnold.
Slot wrapped up by noting that Liverpool’s profile has changed a lot since last summer, and every player must adapt, including Salah.
Transfers and Outlook for 2025-26
This season the English side field a reshaped attack after spending heavily—over £300 million—to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, Alexander Isak from Newcastle United, and Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt.
In departure news, Luis Diaz moved to Bayern Munich, Darwin Nunez joined Al Hilal, and Harvey Elliott joined Aston Villa on loan, while Trent Alexander-Arnold previously left for Real Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup in the United States in early June.
Up front, Salah and Dutch winger Cody Gakpo remain as the spearhead of the attack.
Salah has faced fierce criticism from some former English stars; Paul Scholes labeled him as “the worst player ever rated as the best.”
The controversy peaked when Slot left Salah out of the starting XI against Frankfurt, prompting the Egyptian to delete Liverpool from his social profiles and post a photo with his daughters instead.
Beyond Salah, Slot says there are doubts about Isak and the Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch being ready for Brentford on Saturday. He also confirmed countryman Jeremy Frimbong will be out for a while after an early injury in Frankfurt.
Liverpool’s 2025 summer market saw eight signings to bolster the Reds for 2025-2026. The newcomers include Florian Wirtz, Jeremy Frimbong, Armin Pixsi, Milos Kirkić, Freddie Woodman, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Alexander Isak. The objective is to defend the Premier League title and compete for the Champions League.
Punchlines to keep things light: Salah’s goal drought is so long that even the net filed for a timeout. And if Slot’s tactics keep changing, at least the ball knows where it’s going—usually somewhere it isn’t, but in a good humored way we’ll call it a learning curve.
