Liverpool tried and ultimately failed to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer. Now, Arne Slot has explained why he was keen on the transfer.
After Liverpool had a £51 million offer turned down, Slot admitted in August that the Reds “tried everything” to bring Zubimendi to Merseyside in the summer.
Having turned Liverpool down in the summer, the holding midfielder has now “virtually completed” a deal to sign for Arsenal next summer, according to the Mail‘s Sami Mokbel.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Slot discussed how he likes his defensive midfielders to play and provided an insight into the player Mikel Arteta could be getting.
“I prefer them to get the ball behind those two,” Slot said in reference to his deepest-lying midfielders standing in the pocket between the opposition midfield and attack.
“Therefore these two (Liverpool centre-backs) are so important that we can find them behind those two (first line of opposition press), instead of asking the ball over here or there or there (wide).
“We prefer them keep more in midfield.
“I even think the player that we wanted to bring in – I think it’s out in the open that much – was also a player that was really comfortable, is still a player that is really comfortable on the ball and can bring the ball from our last line to our forwards.”
That player he references is of course Zubimendi.
Ryan Gravenberch’s “special quality”
With the Spaniard not making the move, Liverpool turned to Ryan Gravenberch to take on the role of the Reds’ No. 6.
Watching a clip of the Dutchman turning his man and driving into the opposition half, Slot commented: “This is a special quality Ryan has, that he can turn away from his man.
“He is one of the few holding midfielders, pivots, the way you want to call it in this country, that can create an overload by a dribble. Mostly these players pass a lot.
“Ryan is good in passing as well but to create an overload by a dribble, you don’t see this many times as a No. 6.”
Ex-Man United defender Rio Ferdinand also gave Slot the opportunity to underline just why the defensive midfielder is such a crucial part of his side.
Liverpool’s coach responded: “They’re important to me but they’re especially important to our attackers. We feel we have attackers that are really special, the front three, and we’ve got five or six of them.
“So the only thing we have to make sure is that these players come in promising positions having the ball a lot, and therefore you need two No. 6s that can bring the ball towards them.
“Here you see Virgil (Van Dijk) with the ball. I think he’s one of the best, maybe the best player who can bring the ball towards the midfield.
“And then with Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) and Ryan, we have two exceptional players who can bring the balls to Mo (Salah), to Lucho (Diaz), to Cody (Gakpo), to Darwin (Nunez), to Jota.
“Therefore, we’ve chosen to bring in two players that were maybe a bit more attacking-minded in the past.
“So Macca played a lot of time as a No. 10 for Brighton. Ryan always played as a bit more offensive midfielder, but they’re so comfortable on the ball.”
Fan Comments