How Mohamed Salah-Arne Slot situation reminded me of my ‘nightmare’ exit at Arsenal – Fara Williams column

I understand Salah despite ‘naive’ comments

It’s probably the first time in his career that he is not playing regularly and the club are not relying on him as much. I think it was a bit naive of him to come out and publicly talk about the situation to the media.

It’s probably the last place you want to go to discuss things unless you’re trying to force a move or get the manager sacked, which I honestly don’t believe is the case with Salah.

He appears to be frustrated that his role in the team has changed a little bit and maybe a lack of communication from the manager didn’t help the situation. But I think he would’ve handled things differently if he had a clearer and less emotional mindset at the time.

Football fans will always want big players at the club if they want to be successful in the future. I think Salah is a key part of Liverpool and if they want to be successful this year, he has a part to play. I just think the situation needs to be managed differently.

He has been the main man for so long and then all of a sudden, in his words, he feels like a scapegoat, but I don’t think that’s the case from Arne Slot’s point of view. The manager is probably thinking about how I can re-motivate him and get him back to the levels of last season.

Let’s be honest, he hasn’t reproduced last year’s unreal form, especially in terms of goals and assists. But managers are always trying things to get the best out of their players and Slot probably thought dropping Salah might make the player want to prove a point and return to his best form.

During my playing career, there were managers who would challenge me and I always wanted to prove them wrong. It is possible that Slot was looking for a reaction on the pitch by benching his star man, but the manager didn’t get the best reaction with Salah speaking to the press.

Salah isn’t the only one underperforming at Liverpool, and I’d argue that Virgil van Dijk is nowhere near the level right now, but he will probably never get dropped from the team. I can completely understand Salah’s frustration, but you can’t come out and talk about it in the media.

Liverpool did the right thing by leaving Salah out of the UEFA Champions League game at Inter and it was good that both men had a clear line of communication afterwards. This allowed Salah to return to the squad for the Brighton game, where he provided another assist, so Slot got his reaction in the end.

‘No issue to resolve’ – Slot on Salah’s future

Video credit: SNTV

Manager fallout led to ‘nightmare’ exit from Arsenal

The fallout reminded me of a not-too-dissimilar situation at Arsenal between myself and the manager. It wasn’t a pretty one. During pre-season, I felt like the manager was making an example out of me, and it was downhill from there and I barely played that season.

It was difficult because I wanted to be selected for the 2017 Euros as I felt good about myself and, luckily, the England manager trusted me for what I had achieved over the years, and I was still selected despite not playing any minutes.

I was lucky at the time because I had good people around me outside of football with my agent and family members who rallied behind me, and I could unload my frustrations with them rather than my team-mates.

I think the worst thing that can happen is unloading in the dressing room, and it’s probably not a safe space to do so with other players and the coaching staff. My example at Arsenal was a nightmare and I couldn’t wait to get out, which I managed to do in the end.

Fara Williams endured a tough spell at Arsenal before the 2017 Euros.

Image credit: Getty Images

You can only control what you can control, and I did that by leaving the club as opposed to waiting for him to be sacked, which was the advice given to me at the time.

If I’m being honest, football is quite a selfish sport. Although it’s a team sport, it’s very individual because you’re all competing with each other to play and be the best.

I felt like I was at the top of my level, but I think my situation was more an attack on my character rather than linked to my performance. You can’t change that. How I operated as a player and how I would carry myself around the dressing room on a daily basis was always a big part of who I was on the pitch.

When you try to take it away, you lose half of who you are when you take to the football field and that’s how I felt at Arsenal when that manager was in charge. Being professional looks very different to a lot of people and that depends on personalities and characters.

‘Keep it inside the dressing room’ – Hargreaves, Hoddle discuss Salah situation

Video credit: TNT Sports

Some people need to be diligent and strict in everything that they do and others can be a bit looser in that regard and the latter was my way. I took on a joker role and that was my way of distracting the seriousness of things which some people may not see as professional, but you don’t stay at the top of your game for 23 years and 19 years as an international without being professional.

I remember when people were criticising the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard for their behaviour, but that is who they are and that is what helps them perform. There were clips of both players dancing before or after defeats, but that is not a reflection of them not caring about the game.

It’s just their character and that’s how they both dealt with situations even after losing matches and there’s nothing wrong with that. But in the eyes of those who act differently, they see it as a problem.

I don’t think that Salah was dropped because of his character. I think he suffered a dip in form and Slot was looking for a reaction. When it happened to myself at Arsenal, I think it was more a judge of my character.

It was the first time that I played under a Spanish manager and the way that they operate was completely different to what I was used to during my career.

Communication is key in the modern game

Communication normally plays a role when there is a fallout between players and managers. I think the game has changed massively because back in the day, I’m sure that most managers collectively managed the team in the same way.

You would normally go in on Fridays and you’d see the squad list on the wall and if your name wasn’t there, you weren’t selected. There wasn’t much communication explaining why a player had been left out but I think nowadays, managers have adapted especially with a big focus on the mental wellbeing of players.

‘Should be kept behind closed doors’ – Pundits debate Salah future after outburst

Video credit: TNT Sports

It must be so difficult for managers because no matter how you manage people, you’re always going to be judged for it. In the modern game, I would assume that managers have different people around the club such as psychologists who can help them communicate better with the players.

In Liverpool’s case, Slot might have people saying this player works best if you talk to him in this way and that player responds better when you communicate in that way.

Slot will only be looking to get a reaction from a Liverpool side who are underperforming.

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