Liverpool under Slot begin to take shape with convincing win over Arsenal

From Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, the Reds change cities but the result stays the same with an impressive win over a strong Gunners lineup.

After a solid, if unspectacular, win over Real Betis on Saturday, Liverpool made it two for two against the Gunners. If Slot's maiden game in front of a crowd can be described as a slow start, this game certainly picked up the pace of his new project.

The gaffer opted for the same setup as last time out, except he had a true number nine at his disposal in Jota. Carvalho, Elliott and Salah filled out the attacking midfield while Szoboszlai was pushed back into holding midfield, partnering Jones in the middle and relegating Endo to the bench. The defence was unchanged.

While goals can sometimes come about through luck or a defensive mistake, both of the Reds' goals came courtesy of, they will hope, Slot's tactical guile. Salah's opener was initiated by a cushioned header by Jota from Kelleher's long kick, which found Elliott, who had snuck through Arsenal's lines. The 21-year-old then slid a brilliant through ball in between the centre backs, which Salah galloped onto, Gabriel and Zinchenko in tow. The Egyptian kept his composure to slot the ball in the bottom left corner.

Salah's outside-in run is hardly new, and this movement has come to define his wonderful attacking legacy at the club. But Slot seems to have given Elliott the same freedom that Szoboszlai was afforded last match, except while the Hungarian used his running power to drive into the box, Elliott uses his positional freedom to play his team-mates through. If Slot keeps Harvey in this role, it will surely get the best out of a player who may not be blessed with pace, but possesses a fantastic passing range and imagination.

Spectators at the Lincoln Financial Field were reminded of Elliott's brilliance with the the Reds' second goal of the night, with the Englishman bagging his second assist of the night.

After a driving run forward by his Hungarian team-mate, Elliott received the ball and, spotting a darting run from his long-time colleague at Fulham, clipped an incredible lobbed through ball over the Arsenal defence, which Carvalho dispatched convincingly on the volley.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after the match, Fabio said he "been working on those runs", stating that the coaching staff had told him to focus more on getting in behind the defence rather than receiving the ball into feet.

Perhaps this instruction was designed with Elliott's strengths in mind, who is more than capable of finding a smart pass to find the man either side, or in front, of him. Or maybe this was a game plan specific to Saturday. In any case, it seems that Slot's footballing philosophy is really starting to take shape, leaving Liverpool fans to highly anticipate what comes next. Liverpool take on Manchester United in South Carolina on Sunday.