Arne Slot recently reiterated Jurgen Klopp’s message that Darwin Nunez might earn a spot in the starting lineup by enhancing his defensive play, and it has been nearly 18 months after Jurgen Klopp made the same claim.
But now that Nunez has had two full games in the past week (against Chelsea and RB Leipzig), Liverpool’s manager has gushed over him and suggested the expensive striker is finally starting to deliver in terms of his comprehensive offerings.
In Sunday’s early-season title showdown with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Nunez will start in Diogo Jota’s place after the latter suffered a rib injury last weekend. Also, Slot has to say that his No. 9 is impressive.According to the Dutch manager, “he has put a lot of effort in”—the most basic request a player can make. Plus, scoring the goal (against Leipzig) was really thoughtful of him.
It was debatable whether he needed to touch the ball; after all, it was probably going in (from Mohamed Salah’s shot)…Are you in agreement? Consult Mo! He had to, and I wondered aloud, “Is he offside?” after he scored. But no. I don’t think he has played in too many games with us, but he had a great effort rate and scored a crucial goal.His cooperation with other players might use some work, but that’s true of all of them. On the other hand, that is typical. His impressive play has helped Darwin recover from a slow start caused by Diogo’s heavy workload.
When it comes to defense, Diogo is more of a nine-and-a-half than a striker. In fact, most midfielders are better at it than forwards. Consequently, we change our strategy (to include Nunez instead of Jota). Since Darwin isn’t Diogo’s typical striker, we need to make the most of his strengths in that area as well.