“It is Not Easy” – Arne Slot Address Darwin Nunez Liverpool Backlash and Replacing Mohamed Salah

Arne Slot has shared his thoughts on the contrasting form of Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah as Liverpool prepare to face Fulham. The manager expressed confidence in Nunez’s potential, despite the striker’s inconsistent performances this season.

Slot admitted that Nunez, an £85m signing, has not yet fully delivered in front of goal. The Uruguayan has only scored three times this season, with recent outings against Newcastle United and Girona drawing criticism from some quarters.

Following Liverpool’s victory over Girona, Nunez appeared to reference the negative feedback he has received on social media. His comments highlighted the scrutiny he continues to face.

Slot, aware of the pressure on the forward, emphasised that Nunez would continue to receive opportunities at Liverpool as long as he maintains his work ethic.

However, he also cautioned the 25-year-old about the increasing competition he might face, especially with Diogo Jota nearing a return from injury after starting the season as the team’s first-choice striker.

“Yeah, that’s what we are expecting because we see his quality,” Slot replied when asked if he expects to eventually click for Nunez, as it once did for prolific Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez under the Dutchman’s watch. “For me, the fans do have a lot of love for him.

“Maybe, I don’t know, I heard something about social media, maybe he got a bit of criticism but he will probably not be the first player who gets criticism on social media! That is what happens if you miss one or two chances.

“Probably if we had lost the game, then it would be that my substitutions were not good and my line-up were not good… that is what social media is all about!

“It’s true, isn’t it? If you win, it’s all brilliant, if you lose it’s all s**t! But Darwin has shown already that he is a goalscorer. He is able to do so.

“It’s just, in my opinion, it is a matter of time before he starts to score. But he is in competition with Luis Diaz, who can play as a nine as well, and Diogo Jota, who is coming back.

“This is the challenge he also faces now. It’s not only him not scoring goals, it’s also the challenge of going in competition with a few others. But if he keeps working as hard as he does, then his chances will keep coming.

“Okay, it is clear that with Darwin we would like a few more goals from him, he would like a few more himself, but in every other part of the game I am really happy with him. I fully trust him (Nunez) that the goals will come.”

Although Darwin Nunez has struggled to find the back of the net this season, Mohamed Salah has been in exceptional form. The Egyptian forward scored his 16th goal of the season during Liverpool’s midweek clash with Girona and has also provided 12 assists in 22 matches.

Despite Salah’s stellar contributions, the rest of Liverpool’s squad has not matched his level of output. Luis Diaz is the team’s second-highest scorer with nine goals, but only five of those have come in the Premier League, with his last league goal recorded in September. Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold ranks second in assists for the Reds, having set up four goals this season.

Arne Slot acknowledged the challenge Liverpool would face if Salah’s performance levels declined or if he were sidelined due to injury. However, the Dutchman expressed confidence in his squad, dismissing concerns about over-reliance on Salah. He also shared his belief that the team’s overall performance will continue to improve as the season progresses.

“It is not easy to replace a player like Mo Salah,” he said, when asked if his side were in danger of being over-reliant on the Egyptian. “For so many years he has had his [high] numbers but this season they are probably even higher than normal.

“But that goes for every club, if you have to replace such a special player it is not going to be easy. But if I combine the numbers of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, who are together sharing the minutes in the left wing position, they don’t come as close to Mo but they are still much higher than the five (goals) you were just mentioning.

“So it is not only the player, it is also the position you play in and what the team does to create the chances where these players can finish it off. But it is clear that the special quality of Mo is not easy to replace, if he plays as he is at the moment.

He continued: “I’m really happy with the way they are. I prefer for them to keep the level they are doing at the moment. I would already be happy if they can keep up this level.

“Because like you know and I know, we are not in a bad position at the moment in the Premier League and Champions League so that probably tells you that we do something really well.

“But if they can do better, and they are able to… I don’t hold them back! We aren’t flying but we are doing well.

“I think there is more to come from the players we have, there is more to come from the team than we have shown until now.

“But I think that is something every manager and every team feels. The longer you work with a team, the better they normally start to play and the more they are used to playing together.

“That’s not only for us, that is probably the same for a couple of others as well, that there is more to come from them as well.

“But we truly believe that we can… okay, there are a few that maybe it is not so easy to get more out of them individually – but as a team we can do better and there is definitely more to come from a few individuals, also because of their age.

“And that is the positive thing about the squad I inherited, most of them are still quite young and the best years normally are still to come.”

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