Arne Slot must not let dazzling Cody Gakpo stat allow escape from Liverpool axe
Cody Gakpo has experienced a recent surge in decent performances, but it might still be time for Arne Slot to experiment a little more with the Liverpool squad.
Gakpo starred during a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, grabbing a goal and an assist as the Reds overturned a one-goal deficit on Wednesday, 22 October.
It adds to his two goals in recent games against Man United and Chelsea, but in a string of games before that, the Dutch winger was one of Slot’s biggest weaknesses in the starting lineup.
Slot is clearly not afraid to make changes that upset the supporters, with Mohamed Salah a surprise absentee against Frankfurt, and he may need to bite the bullet on the opposite flank too.
Cody Gakpo’s recent displays are only papering over the cracks
With three big chances created in Germany, adding to two against Galatasaray, the 26-year-old leads the way in the Champions League this season, with Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Nuno Mendes following closely behind.
That cannot be the only thing that keeps him in the starting lineup, though, because not everything has been smooth sailing for the Reds over the past few weeks. Losing four games in a row was tough.
Questions are being asked of Slot, and while beating Frankfurt so convincingly has quietened some of the pressure, his lack of ability to find a solution to current problems is frustrating a lot of supporters.
Gakpo, while his numbers continue to rise, his underlying stats suggest that he could use a break on the sidelines in the upcoming games, with the Reds trying to regain top spot in the Premier League.
Arne Slot must be concerned by Gakpo’s underlying stats
Compared to other wingers [FBref], he ranks in the 50th percentile for assists, 27th percentile for progressive passes, 54th percentile for progressive carries, and 44th percentile for successful take-ons.
His stats read much more like a striker rather than a world-class winger, and with Luis Diaz thriving at Bayern Munich, some fans might feel that the club sold the wrong player during the summer.
Supporters were buzzing with the Champions League victory, and rightly so, but it should not take away from just how poor the team have been over the last few weeks. Slot is not yet safe from criticism.
With Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike battling for the centre-forward spot, a position change is out of the question, so the manager could be left with a major headache over the left-wing position.