“Wait, what?” – Slot stunned by Michael Owen’s recent comments about Liverpool this week

Arne Slot was surprised by Michael Owen’s questioning of Virgil van Dijk after the Merseyside derby. When Owen suggested that winning the Premier League alone wouldn’t make Liverpool’s season “special,” Van Dijk responded firmly, stating that winning the league would still be a major achievement and that he was determined to “change the narrative” about his team. A few days later, Liverpool’s head coach joined his captain in challenging Owen’s comment, dismissing the idea that winning the league wouldn’t be significant, and also rejecting the notion that the quality of the Premier League has declined this season.

Reflecting on the Owen/Van Dijk interview, Slot said (via Daily Mail), “Let me get this right—Virgil was frustrated because it seemed like winning the Premier League alone wouldn’t be enough? Michael played for us, right? He knows that in 35 years, we’ve only won the league once. If you win the league with this club, then nothing else matters. If you win it ten times in a row, I could understand people saying, ‘Oh, you only won the Premier League.’ But winning it at this club—competing for it, let alone winning it—is a strange question to ask. If Virgil feels that way, I agree with him. I follow Dutch media more, but let’s not get into that. The league is stronger than ever, and even Pep Guardiola has said that no team will ever repeat what his did, winning the league four times in a row and getting more than 100 points.”

Slot is right to challenge the idea that winning the Premier League wouldn’t be a massive achievement for Liverpool, especially considering how few pundits even considered them as potential title contenders at the start of the season. Winning the league this year would feel particularly special, even if it isn’t as long-awaited as their 2020 triumph, which was overshadowed by the pandemic. For a club like Liverpool, securing silverware should never be taken for granted, and Slot is also correct in pointing out the overall strength of the Premier League, highlighted by the improvements of clubs like Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Brighton. The claim that the league’s quality has diminished is simply envy toward Liverpool’s success this season. If Liverpool clinch the title, no player, fan, or coach associated with the club will care about the opinions of those outside it.