By Sam French

Arne Slot addresses Jeremie Frimpong’s availability, Mohamed Salah’s drought, and the challenge of facing West Ham United

Arne Slot faced the media ahead of Saturday’s Premier League encounter with West Ham United at Anfield, offering updates on team news, individual form and the broader challenges facing his side as the season intensifies.

Frimpong Available, Wirtz Sidelined

Credit: Liverpool FC

The Liverpool manager confirmed a welcome boost on the injury front, revealing that Jeremie Frimpong has trained several times this week and will be available for selection.

However, there was less positive news regarding Florian Wirtz. The German remains out with injury in what Arne Slot described as “a disappointment for him and for us.” The German was withdrawn from the starting line-up last week at Nottingham Forest after suffering an injury in the warm-up. 

On a possible return date, the Dutchman admitted, “I don’t know.” He added an explanation and said, “usually when I say that, I do know and I don’t want to share that. But this time, I honestly don’t know.”

Salah's Goal Drought

When asked about Mo Salah’s run of games without a goal, the manager said “he sets his own standards”. Arne Slot framed the situation as both an individual and collective challenge. “It’s a challenge he has,” he stated, before broadening the responsibility. “It’s also a team thing we have to improve.” 

He was keen to stress that the Egyptian’s consistency over the years has set expectations at an extraordinary level. "He sets his own standards and they were so, so high. When he doesn’t score for a few games, it means people are surprised. We are used to him scoring a lot of goals, but we also know this has happened before and in the end, he always starts scoring again.”

However, the manager also pointed out that the winger is not alone in searching for sharper finishing form, noting that Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo have also not found the net as frequently in recent weeks.

Development of Ngumoha

The manager also praised the recent progress of Rio Ngumoha, whose minutes have increased significantly. Arne Slot attributed that directly to the youngster’s improvement on the training ground.

“He developed and became a better player,” he said, highlighting the pathway available to young talents who show consistent growth.

Top-four race

With another win potentially piling pressure on rivals in the race for Champions League qualification, Arne Slot insisted his focus remains internal.

“We’re not so focused on other teams and mainly on ourselves,” he explained. “We know we need to win a lot of games and that is what our focus is on. We are aware of the league table.”

Facing West Ham

Reflecting on last weekend’s struggle to break down Nottingham Forest, the Dutchman acknowledged a recurring theme when facing teams near the bottom of the table.

As Liverpool prepare to host West Ham at Anfield, they will be looking to back-up the three points from that late win in the East Midlands and increase their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.