Theo Walcott has raised questions about Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk’s form this season, pointing to a decline in the team’s physicality as a key factor behind their disappointing performances.
The Merseysiders, who won the Premier League title last season, have struggled to find consistency this campaign. After securing some narrow wins early on, Liverpool have lost five of their last six games across all competitions. Their woes in the league are especially concerning, with four consecutive defeats leaving them seventh in the standings—seven points behind leaders Arsenal.
Amidst this challenging period, Walcott shared his thoughts on Van Dijk’s performance, telling Metro:
> “You have Virgil van Dijk who looks an absolute shadow of a player, Konate has been up and down. There is no structure to the way they play now, there’s no balance. Virgil used to have a solid brick in front of him in Gravenberch but now he has no one at times and you have players who don’t want to commit to tackles.”
He added,
> “The physical side of it has gone out of the window, so for me Liverpool need to go back to basics and forget about the egos because that is a big problem for me right now.”
Liverpool have managed to keep just three clean sheets in 14 games across all competitions this season, highlighting their defensive struggles.
Walcott also addressed some of the reasons behind Liverpool’s poor form. Despite a summer spending spree approaching £450 million—welcoming players like Alexander Isak, Jeremie Frimpong, and Florian Wirtz—the club also saw key departures including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez.
The former Arsenal and England forward expressed concerns over manager Arne Slot’s approach, suggesting the team might be overthinking their tactics.
> “I feel that they are overthinking quite a lot and that comes down to the manager. When they signed loads of players we all went ‘Oh they are going to win the league, they’ve signed all these players’ and it was like a fantasy league.”
Walcott continued,
> “Now when you look at the bigger picture and try to implement your style onto a team that didn’t actually have to change that much because it wasn’t broken. Trying to implement five, six, seven new players into a title-winning team doesn’t happen often. You don’t have to tweak too much when you win the league, you really don’t, and I think there are players who aren’t themselves because they are overthinking and they are not playing as a team.”
Liverpool will look to turn their fortunes around when they face Crystal Palace at Anfield in the EFL Cup Fourth Round on Wednesday, October 29.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-that-big-problem-right-now-theo-walcott-explains-liverpool-order-get-back-best