View: 35% Liverpool dud faces axe after what he did v Arsenal
Luis Diaz will be sweating over his future as a regular starter for Liverpool after his howler in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Sunday (27 October).
The 27-year-old assisted Virgil van Dijk for the Reds’ first equaliser, cancelling out Bukayo Saka’s opener, before Mohamed Salah secured a share of the spoils in the final 10 minutes at the Emirates after Mikel Merino had restored the lead heading into half-time.
Arne Slot decided to start Diaz over Cody Gakpo, who has started both matches for Liverpool since the international break, in a decision that backfired.
Slot must now decide whether to drop the Colombian again with two vital points slipping away in the Premier League against a weakened Arsenal side.
Luis Diaz reverts back to old habits for Liverpool
Diaz enjoyed a remarkable resurgence under Slot at the start of the season for Liverpool, scoring five goals in the opening five matches.
The forward was scrutinised heavily towards the back end of last season, and the same form has reared its ugly head again.
His assist for Van Dijk via a well-worked set-piece routine was important, but it was his only notable impact against Arsenal in a match that saw the Reds lose top spot to Manchester City in the Premier League.
Indeed, Diaz managed only nine passes throughout his 63 minutes on the pitch [Sofascore]. How a top-level Premier League forward can justify starting for Liverpool on the biggest stage while putting up numbers such as this is beyond justification.
While his assist constituted one key pass and one big chance created, he struggled to exert any influence on proceedings, made even worse considering he was matched up against Thomas Partey as a makeshift right-back.
Diaz failed to complete any of his two crossing attempts and managed a dribble success rate of only 40 per cent, all while losing possession of the ball an astonishing 12 times [Sofascore].
His defensive work-rate was even more worrying as he won a tiny 35 per cent of his 20 duels and was deservedly hooked heading into the final half an hour of the match after a poor outing in North London.
Cody Gakpo ready to make the left-wing spot his own at Liverpool
Gakpo has finally hit the ground at Anfield under Slot after playing second-fiddle to Diaz last term, and now he has the perfect opportunity to make the left-wing spot his own.
The 25-year-old started the 1-0 win against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and was sensational, raising questions as to why he was dropped for the important clash at the Emirates.
He created two big chances out of four key passes and terrorised the Leipzig defence, completing 50 per cent of his dribbles and registering two shots on target [WhoScored].
Slot will have to rotate his side heavily in the coming weeks as Liverpool fight to compete on all fronts, but some fixtures in the torrid schedule ahead hold more weight than others.
Manchester City and Real Madrid will travel to Anfield in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, and the Reds can lay down a serious statement of intent with wins against both sides.
Diaz cannot be relied upon to shine in the big fixtures and, on the off-chance Salah fails to perform, Liverpool lack options up top who can hold the mantle.
Gakpo could be the man to do just that, and Slot cannot waste anymore time and must therefore place his full trust in his Dutch compatriot.
In other Liverpool news, a behind-the-scenes figure confirms his official departure from the Reds.
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