How Does Arne Slot Use His Number Nine?

Detailed analysis of Santiago Giménez, Dominic Solanke and other potential signings for Liverpool

Written on 21/05/2024, data collected on 17/05/2024, majority of the data from FBRef, heatmap from Sofascore.

With it being official that Arne Slot will be the next Liverpool ‘head coach’, it is safe to move towards making a deeper analysis of how the now former Feyenoord boss wants his team to play. We will focus on the forward line in this article, specifically on the use of the number nine. 

Under Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool were operating in a 4-3-3 system with the two wingers playing as inside forwards (narrow) and a false nine in the centre of the front three (Roberto Firmino). Since the latter's departure, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez have been tried in that role with varied success depending on how they are used.

Slot though, likes his number nine to play like how the position is defined for - scoring goals, being the target man when required, becoming the first line of defence and not dropping deep to link with the midfield as much. For doing the latter, the number 10 is there in his 4-2-3-1 system, unlike the 4-3-3 of Klopp with three central midfielders.

Now, given the season Dominic Solanke has had for Bournemouth and knowing that Michael Edwards inserted a buy-back clause in his contract when selling him to the Cherries in 2019, it is worth looking at whether the club would like to sign the Englishman back and put him in that typical number nine role. 

What we will do in this article is look at Solanke and compare his numbers with the likes of Giménez, Jota, Gakpo and Núñez in various aspects with a focus on how he matches with Giménez since the Mexican was Slot’s primary number nine in the last two successful seasons at Feyenoord.

Premier League Forwards Finishing and Shot Effectiveness (ft. Solanke, Núñez, Jota and Gakpo)

Finishing effectiveness means how the players have fared when their goals tally is matched up against the expected numbers. We will focus on the non-penalty goals and xG because that gives us the best idea of the finishing ability of a forward. Shot effectiveness refers to the number of shots attempted and how many shots a player takes to score a goal on average.

Solanke and Gakpo are performing as per the expected numbers, while Jota was Liverpool’s best finisher this season (such a shame that he got injured in crucial junctures). It is also not a surprise to see Núñez underperforming his expected numbers. While the Uruguayan has improved, there is still a way to go for him before he can be the main number nine at Anfield. Can Slot bring the best out of him? We shall wait and watch.