Arne Slot has enjoyed a near perfect start to life in Liverpool, and the transition from the Jurgen Klopp era has been pretty seamless.
Just over a quarter of the way through the season the Reds sit five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, and many people’s title favourites Arsenal sit nine points below Slot’s side.
Liverpool are also the only team still able to boast a 100% record in the UEFA Champions League.
There have been a number of standout performers in Slot’s tenure, but it is the team’s collective performance that has got Liverpool in such a favourable position early in the season.
Alan Shearer snubs Arsenal and City in his Team of the Season so far
Although we are only just over a quarter of the way through the Premier League season, the Premier League’s all-time top goal scorer, Alan Shearer, has taken a stab at naming his Team of the Season so far.
To the surprise of many there are no Manchester City or Arsenal players and, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Liverpool is the most represented side in Shearer’s team.
Four Liverpool players: Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah all made the cut, whilst Arne Slot was also named as the manager of the team.
Nottingham Forest, the only side to beat Liverpool since Slot took over, were the second most represented side with Matz Sels, Nikola Milenkovic and Chris Wood all included.
The side was rounded off by Antonee Robinson of Fulham, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford.
This means despite having 12 goals after 11 matches, there was no place for Erling Haaland or for Arsenal’s ‘starboy’ Bukayo Saka, who leads the league in assists.
But the terrible reality is that Man City and Arsenal fans can have few complaints, Liverpool’s stars have been the clear standouts of the Premier League campaign so far.
Notable Liverpool exceptions
Although most supporters will undoubtedly be happy that the Reds are so represented in Shearer’s XI, there are some notable exceptions.
Luis Diaz has been phenomenal since the arrival of his new head coach and would not look out of place in this Team of the Season so far.
Ibrahima Konate has also looked as solid as a rock next to Van Dijk this season, with very little separating the two, and it seems extremely harsh not to include the Frenchman.
The XI was picked based purely on Premier League performance, which may be why Diaz, who hasn’t scored in the competition since September, wasn’t included.
Either way, neither Diaz or Konate would look out of place in this XI and come the end of the campaign they may well have a place in Shearer’s final Team of the Season.
This is just another example of how big the gap is becoming between Liverpool and their rivals City and Arsenal, who will both have their work cut out for them if they want to catch up with the Reds before the league title is out of reach.