In his latest column, the Betway ambassador discusses Liverpool's title triumph, and the upcoming Champions League and Europa League finals.
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Firstly, congratulations to Liverpool on a tremendous season. To win the league by that many points, very comfortably, full credit has to go to Arne Slot in his first season. It’s never easy, as I know myself, coming into a new team, but he has fitted in straight away.
Slot comes across very well, speaks well, and he’s obviously a good man manager. You can tell that from his interviews. It’s been an unbelievable season for him.
I think if Liverpool want to kick on next year, then obviously signing a striker – a real No. 9 – would be huge. Someone like Alexander Isak would suit Liverpool. I think he would really help them in the Champions League, because you can see that competition is getting even stronger at the top now.
I’m sure Trent Alexander-Arnold would have been disappointed that he got booed by the Liverpool fans. They are brilliant, unbelievable fans and are very loyal as well. They’re disappointed that one of their own is leaving, which you can understand, but nobody wants to see anyone getting booed by their home fans.
Knowing the Liverpool fans like I do, I think it was one of those where they were just getting it out of their system, and I wouldn’t be surprised now in the remaining game if he gets a really good farewell from the fans, because that’s what they’re like. I think they got the frustration out and you’d like to think that will be the end of it.
To me, Conor Bradley is definitely a suitable candidate to start for Liverpool at right-back next season in Alexander-Arnold’s absence. He is a different player to Trent, of course. Trent is technically very, very gifted, while Bradley is more of a runner and is maybe a bit quicker. Liverpool are lucky to have him, and while there’s talk of Jeremie Frimpong joining from Bayer Leverkusen, I think Conor Bradley could definitely do the job.
With no striker, Arsenal have gone backwards
Arsenal fell well short in the title race and I would say they’ve gone backwards a little bit this season. They got off to a nice start in the league and had a great result beating Real Madrid in the Champions League, but they’ve finished well behind Liverpool and were knocked out of Europe by PSG.
For me, the reason is clear – people have been talking for years about Arsenal getting a proper No. 9, and they’re just missing that, for me. They need someone who can score between 20 and 30 goals and also link up play. Again, going back to Isak, he’d be the perfect fit for that role with the way he plays.
Ultimately, I think it’s been a poor season for Arsenal and there’s no getting away from that.
Postecoglou and Amorim will stick to their styles
It’s a big week for Tottenham with the Europa League final on Wednesday. I’d love to see them lift the cup at the end of a very disappointing season and I’m sure the Spurs fans would be happy with a European trophy after such a such a long time without winning one, but you still can’t get away from the poor season that they’ve had. They didn’t expect to be in the situation, and neither did Manchester United. There’s no chance that either side should be in their current positions with the squads that they have.
I don’t think either manager will change their philosophy for this game. They both seem to be a bit stubborn about the way they play, and they stick to that. That’s their way.
I think Spurs’ team looks stronger on paper, and I’m certainly hoping they can come away with the win.
Highs and lows for my former clubs in the Championship
I’m delighted for Leeds, another of my former clubs, after they won the Championship. They’re a great club with a great fanbase, and you could see that in the atmosphere at the end of the season.
I hope Leeds will back the manager next season and it’s not going to be the case where three teams go up just to get relegated. Hopefully they’ve give the backing to the manager to sign some players that can keep them steady in the top flight for a couple of years, and then hopefully kick on from there. They’re definitely a club that deserves to be in the Premier League.
On the other hand, I was gutted for Coventry after their play-off defeat. I obviously know Frank Lampard very well and he did a tremendous job, considering where they were when he took over. To get them to the playoffs is great achievement and there are positive signs for next season.
I watched the game and was hugely disappointed when they conceded in the last second, but they should be proud. Knowing Lamps the way I do, with the winner that he is, he’ll be itching to get going again next season. Hopefully they’ll also back him and give him the right credentials to try and go up next year.
Luis Enrique has built a unified PSG
I’m looking forward to the Champions League final, and for obvious reasons I want my former team Inter to win. Inter and PSG have both been very, very solid in the Champions League and domestically as well, so it should be a very interesting game.
I’ve been so impressed with the tremendous job Luis Enrique has done with PSG. He’s had to get rid of some big-name players and built more of a team, and you can see on the pitch that they’re definitely united together.
You’d have to say the same for Inter and Simone Inzaghi as well. It’s certainly a game that I’m looking forward to, and I’m hopeful that Inter can nick it.
