Arne Slot breaks silence on ‘arguments’ with Liverpool star: He’s totally different now!

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted that Federico Chiesa has reacted excellently to his omission from the club’s Champions League squad.

The Italy international struggled upon his arrival from Juventus last summer, but he has now adapted to life at Anfield and he notably scored a decisive late goal against Bournemouth to help Liverpool secure a 4-2 win in their opening Premier League fixture of the campaign.

Chiesa only made 14 appearances across all competitions during the 2024-25 season, but he has featured in all four of Liverpool’s league matches so far this term and he has established himself as a valuable rotation option in the process.

However, he was surprisingly excluded from Liverpool’s squad for this season’s Champions League, with Slot opting to select 17-year-old wonderkid Rio Ngumoha ahead of the former Serie A superstar.

As a result, Chiesa will not feature against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening.

Although the ex-Juventus winger remains frustrated at his omission, Slot has admitted that he understands the “arguments” that ultimately led to his exclusion.

Arne Slot on Federico Chiesa

Speaking to reporters ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Burnley on Sunday, Slot said: “Of course, that is one of the most difficult things you have to do as a manager. For a player not to play, it is not always easy to tell them but not to be in the squad is always more difficult. I just explained to him why we made this choice. Of course, he wasn’t happy with that.

“I think he understood my arguments – that is not to say he agreed with them. He didn’t tell me, by the way, that he didn’t agree with them! But he gave me the answer you want to hear from a player, that he will be there to help the team in the cups and in the league.”

Following Chiesa’s match-winning cameo versus Bournemouth in August, Slot admitted that a major change has occurred over the summer.

“I see a totally different Federico now than from large parts of last season. It is completely normal because he missed out on the whole pre-season and then came into a Premier League rhythm in terms of the amount of games and in terms of intensity.

“If he is more available then he has more chances to impact our results or his playing time. But then it is about him staying as fit as he is at the moment.”