Arne Slot Blames Salah’s Slump on Alexander-Arnold’s Departure

Liverpool’s season has taken an unexpected twist — and so has Mohamed Salah’s form. The Egyptian superstar, long seen as the symbol of Liverpool’s modern success, has struggled to find his rhythm under Arne Slot, and the manager believes he knows why. According to Slot, the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, now a Real Madrid player, has disrupted one of the Premier League’s most productive partnerships.

Salah has scored just one goal in the league this season, a shocking decline for a player who once made double-digit hauls look effortless. Once again, all eyes are on the winger, not for his brilliance, but for the growing frustration that has begun to boil over — both on and off the pitch.

Slot’s explanation for Salah’s decline is simple but telling: the chemistry he shared with Alexander-Arnold has been irreplaceable. For years, the right side of Liverpool’s attack was its most dangerous weapon — the overlap of Trent’s pinpoint crosses and Salah’s diagonal runs tore defenses apart. Without that telepathic link, Salah has looked isolated and, at times, uninspired.

“Maybe his whole Liverpool career he played with Trent,” Slot told reporters this week. “It could be that. He’s been in promising positions often enough, maybe even more with Trent, but when you lose those connections, it takes time to rebuild them.”

That loss of familiarity is visible in Salah’s play. His touches are fewer, his runs less precise, and his confidence — once overflowing — appears to have taken a hit. The numbers back it up: Salah has averaged 1.7 shots per game, his lowest since joining Liverpool, and his conversion rate has plummeted to under 6%.

Liverpool’s tactical adjustments under Slot have also played a role. The new system emphasizes collective possession rather than the rapid, vertical counterattacks of the Klopp era. The wide forwards are expected to tuck in more, creating room for full-backs to advance — but with Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez alternating at right-back, the chemistry simply hasn’t clicked.

Slot’s comments hint at a broader issue: a team still trying to redefine itself after years of success built around a specific set of players and patterns. “When you change a lot in one summer,” Slot said, “you have to find new connections. Mo is no exception to that.”

If Salah’s frustration was once internal, it’s now impossible to ignore. After being benched against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League — a match Liverpool won 5–1 without him — Salah appeared to send a message of his own. Within hours, fans noticed that he had removed all Liverpool references from his social media bios and replaced his profile pictures with neutral ones, wiping away the red entirely.

The move shocked supporters, especially since Salah had just signed a lucrative contract extension last season worth an estimated $21 million USD per year. To many, it felt like a symbolic severing — a star distancing himself from a club where he’s no longer untouchable.