"Excuses for teams that don't win the league" - Liverpool boss Arne Slot appears to take dig at Arsenal with pointed comment
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has appeared to fire a massive dig at Arsenal by claiming that excuses are for those who don't find success. His comments arrived just days after Mikel Arteta claimed injuries and red cards were the main reasons why his side failed to win the 2024-25 Premier League title.
Despite challenging the Reds for most of the season, Arsenal fell short of securing Premier League glory for the third consecutive season. They are expected to finish second in the table once again and have garnered 71 points from 37 games, 12 points behind Liverpool.
Arteta was recently asked why his side weren't able to secure silverware this season, to which he replied (via METRO):
"Red cards and injuries for sure. But without that, we don’t know what would have happened. Would we have been much closer? For me, the answer is without a question, yes. Because of what we have been producing and the performances that we had. But we’re going to have to do something else [next season] because the bar will be raised."
Slot appeared to indirectly reply to Arteta's statement while discussing the difficulties of winning the title after replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager last summer. He told BBC Sport (via GOAL):
"All these excuses you could give to Liverpool... with us maybe not spending... or not bringing new players in, or taking over from someone. All these things are excuses for teams that don't win the league, and it's nice that if you have all these excuses, that you don't have to use them, but you still just won it."
Arsenal were punished for their misconduct on the field this season, with six players being sent off - the most in the league. Moreover, they lost several important stars to injury, with Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Magalhaes amongst the list.
"They have two-three clubs" - Gianluca Di Marzio explains why Alexander Isak will leave Newcastle this summer amid Arsenal and Liverpool interest
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reckons Newcastle United would be willing to sell Alexander Isak this summer due to multiple clubs being interested in signing the Sweden international. He reckons Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United are in the running for Isak's signature, who is reportedly valued at over £100 million.
Di Marzio told Swedish news outlet FotbollDirekt (as per Football365):
“I think Isak will leave this summer. His agents are working. They have two-three clubs – Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd – all there. The most interesting projects from a technical and economic standpoint are the ones with Champions League football, so Man Utd, at this moment, will be behind."
He added:
“While the others are talking and yes, I think he can leave this summer. I think Newcastle will be willing to let Isak leave because there are too many offers for him, too many requests. I think Newcastle know that it’s almost impossible to keep him and so I think he can go.”
Isak has been one of the best forwards in the world this season - a position both Liverpool and Arsenal are reportedly looking to strengthen in. The 25-year-old has bagged 27 goals and provided six assists in 41 appearances across all competitions.
