Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes his team can compete with the financial might of Manchester City despite the club's signing of Erling Haaland to a record-breaking contract. Slot emphasizes the competitive nature of the Premier League and Liverpool's ability to score goals despite Darwin Nunez's recent struggles.
Arne Slot began the week emphasizing the folly of underestimating Manchester City this season. By the end of the week, City dominated conversations at the AXA Training Centre. Even before Liverpool 's manager took his usual seat to answer questions on Friday morning, journalists were buzzing about the astonishing news that Erling Haaland had signed a contract widely considered mind-bogglingly long – nine and a half years with City.
Reports indicated Haaland's basic weekly salary would be £500,000, signaling both City's unwavering determination to retain their star striker and the immense financial power of their Abu Dhabi ownership compared to Liverpool under Fenway Sports Group's leadership. When asked if this was a stark reminder of the Reds' need to maintain top performance both on and off the field to keep pace, Slot shifted the focus to the Premier League's other financially dominant clubs. 'Not particularly about the investment but we know how good we have to be every single day to compete in this league,' Slot stated. 'It is not only the club you are referring to. Chelsea also spends £1.2billion, (Manchester) United spend an incredible amount. 'Every team spends a lot of money over here, that's why it's such an interesting league to be part of. Some season this club spends a bit more, other seasons other clubs spend a bit more. That's what makes this league so intense and so difficult to win. 'But that's also the reason why we want to be here: you want to compete against the best, with the best, and we are very happy with the team we have at the moment and we are still able to compete with all the teams that are spending incredible amounts of money.' Indeed, Liverpool's ability to compete is evident in their commanding position at the top of the Premier League table, four points clear with a game in hand as they prepare for Saturday's challenging match against Brentford. The Reds are two points ahead of their tally at the same stage last season, with closest contenders Arsenal on the same score they had after 21 games last term. City, meanwhile, are languishing in sixth place, 11 points worse off. While Haaland has consistently impacted City since joining in 2022, with 111 goals in 126 games, Darwin Nunez, who joined Liverpool the same summer, has struggled to match that prolific output. Nunez scored in Liverpool's 4-1 victory at Brentford last season, and after serving a one-match suspension, he is vying for a starting position this weekend. Diogo Jota is likely to miss out due to a minor injury sustained during the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. However, when asked about Nunez's recent struggles – the Uruguayan has only started two of Liverpool's last seven Premier League games – Slot focused instead on the forward's overall contribution. 'That's your perception and maybe the perception of other people as well – but it's not my perception that he's struggling with self-confidence,' Slot asserted, addressing the notion that Nunez has been underperforming. 'He was involved against Accrington Stanley in the first goal again as well, he was involved in the goal against Fulham that (Diogo) Jota scored and he scored one against Southampton. 'I think after that it wasn't that he had many starts – maybe one time, I don't know exactly. For me, it's the life of a striker – sometimes you score, sometimes you don't. And he hasn't started every single game. 'The most important thing for me is that we as a team were able to score every single game, except for the Tottenham one and (Nottingham Forest). So, it tells me that we have so many goals in our team. Darwin will score his goals, like he did for this club already and he will keep doing this. 'But I don't see him struggling that much as the way you see it and he's still involved in goals in the last few games as well.
Premier League Manchester City Erling Haaland Liverpool Arne Slot Darwin Nunez Financial Power Competition
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