Arne Slot in ‘writing on the wall’ warning at Liverpool as plea made to Virgil van Dijk

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Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk have both received a stark warning amid Liverpool's alarming slump in form. The Reds have suffered four consecutive Premier League defeats and exited of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace earlier this week.

That dismal run in the top flight has seen Liverpool plummet to seventh in the Premier League table ahead of Saturday night's showdown with Aston Villa . Slot's side haven't tasted victory in the league since the triumph over Everton in the Merseyside derby on September 20.

Liverpool's string of losses has heaped mounting pressure on Slot's position as head coach. Yet former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen, who worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson , has outlined why several factors may be behind the Reds' worrying decline.

“They [Liverpool] were winning games in the first games of the season but they were dragging themselves over the line in the last few minutes so the writing was on the wall and they’ve gone from leading the title race to being several points behind," Meulensteen told compare.bet .

"That's an enormous shift but Slot has not turned into a bad manager. His coaching staff aren’t suddenly bad coaches.

"They haven't suddenly turned the messaging to the players from black to white. It’s the same with the players.

“[Florian] Wirtz has come from a different league in the Bundesliga, as did [Hugo] Ekitke, but I think Wirtz is finding it even a little bit harder to find his feet.

"The whole [Alexander] Isak transfer saga has not done anybody any favours because he's not been fully fit. Mentally, he's probably not arrived at where he needs to be. He's desperate to score a goal and get going.

“Everybody's starting to question Mohamed Salah now but he hasn't suddenly turned into a bad player. He has had these spells before where he suddenly hits a bit of a dry patch."

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Meulensteen continued by highlighting why he thinks senior figures like Van Dijk need to immediately demonstrate their leadership qualities to stop Liverpool's losing streak.

“They have to go back to themselves and say, when were we at our best and what were the reasons why? The key is making sure that you don't start pointing fingers at each other," Meulensteen added.

"You look at yourself first and make sure that you stick together. You say let's bring the best out of each other again. It starts with hard work, working together, doing your defensive jobs and making sure those players who thrive on being able to express themselves have the courage to play their best football.

“That's what those big players do and there's no harm in asking the big players to step up. Virgil Van Dijk is still there. Dominik Szoboszlai is only getting better and better. They’ve still got Alexis Mac Allister. Salah is still there.”

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