Liverpool impressively contained Arsenal to just two shots on target in their friendly encounter in the US, but the Gunners’ avenue to goal leaves Arne Slot with a key area to improve.
The Reds warmed up for the season with another victory on their US tour, but results are secondary to performances when it comes to how Slot assesses their success.
Liverpool’s head coach has been open and honest in his assessment of how his team are developing, and it was the same again after the 2-1 win over Arsenal in Philadelphia.
Two assists from Harvey Elliott saw the scoreboard read 2-0 in the Reds’ favour just 11 minutes out from the interval, only for Kai Havertz to peg a goal back minutes before the break.
It arrived from the second phase of a corner for the Gunners, an area that has been problematic for the Reds in the past and will now, undoubtedly, have Slot’s attention.
“What I didn’t like was conceding out of the second phase of a set piece,” Slot told LFCTV.
“Because the game at 2-0 up at half time is much different than conceding one from a set piece and coming in at half time 2-1.”
By some way of comparison, the Reds conceded 10 goals from set pieces in the Premier League last season – but it was not unusual to see Liverpool make hard work of winning the second ball.
What will give Slot confidence in addressing the one thing he didn’t like from the win over Arsenal was how his side defended when under sustained pressure in the second 45.
“The second half, where we had a lot of problems with Arsenal because they were constantly all over us, we defended really strong,” he said.
“We kept them away from our 16, I don’t think they created that many chances.
“That was a positive thing because you will always have difficult times in a game, and if you fight like this, so many bodies behind the ball, our defending in front of the goal was really good.
“That was pleasing to see.”
Despite conceding from a simple tap-in across the six-yard box, Liverpool contained Arsenal to just two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.
The Reds created three times as many big chances despite having less of the ball, and on that Slot said: “It was satisfying to see us create that many chances against a strong opponent.”
