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Arne Slot’s honest answer over why he keeps rotating Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson at Liverpool
Liverpool are flying high in the Premier League and in the Champions League this season and there’s real optimism with regards to potentially winning silverware.
Arne Slot has done a great job at Liverpool so far in a seamless transition for the club since Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield departure.
However, there have been some notable changes under Slot, such as his approach towards the club’s left-backs.
Andy Robertson had been Liverpool’s starting left-back for six-and-a-half seasons under Klopp, with Kostas Tsimikas viewed firmly as his second-choice.
Slot is now rotating Robertson and Tsimikas and, speaking to the Reds media team ahead of the Ipswich Town game, he explained why.
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Arne Slot says Kostas Tsimikas improvement means he can rotate with Andrew Robertson
Slot was asked whether his rotation at left-back is down to managing workload or because Tsimikas’ level has improved this season.
The Liverpool boss admitted that both points were true, noting how the £12million Greece international has done well ever since he arrived at Anfield.
“I think both,” said Slot.
“If Kostas was on a completely different level than Robbo then it would not be smart to rotate in that position or manage the load because then you drop so far in quality that it could be a risk.
“I don’t know what Kostas’ situation was last season, I know he didn’t play a lot but I don’t know where he was at which level.
“But from the moment I came and in our tour in the United States, he did really well. He’s proved that he can play in the left full-back position as well.
“Since we’ve now got two good options, in my opinion, you can indeed see we are managing loads and rotate in that position quite a bit. Yes, that’s true.”
How Tsimikas and Robertson have been faring this season
Robertson was previously seen as one of the best left-backs in the world, but he has seen a drop-off in form, not to mention playing through injuries.
| Robertson | Tsimikas | |
| Total played | 20 | 10 |
| Started | 18 | 3 |
| Minutes per game | 74 | 36 |
| Total minutes played | 1477 | 355 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Assists | 0 | 1 |
| Big chances created | 4 | 3 |
| Key passes per game | 1.4 | 0.7 |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 0 |
| Interceptions per game | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Tackles per game | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Possession won | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Balls recovered per game | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Dribbled past per game | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Clearances per game | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Penalties conceded | 1 | 0 |
Liverpool fans have previously claimed that Tsimikas has been doing better than Robertson and should now be considered the club’s first-choice left-back.
It remains to be seen whether Tsimikas goes on to become the first-choice, but as things stand, Robertson has still played much more than his fellow left-back this term.