'Asked me this a year ago': Arne Slot admits he's changed his mind about Steven Gerrard since joining Liverpool
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The Premier League title may have eluded Steven Gerrard during his playing career, but the former Liverpool captain is held in high regard by all his peers.
The boyhood Scouser won every other trophy during his stint with the club, with the UEFA Champions League triumph against AC Milan in Istanbul the standout moment of his career.
Gerrard was often the man for the big occasions for Liverpool and particularly enjoyed playing in European football’s biggest competition as he also reached the final – and eventually lost out to AC Milan in 2007.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been speaking about the Champions League and made a rather interesting claim about Gerrard when asked to name his dream team in the competition.
Arne Slot singles out Steven Gerrard for high praise
Slot included Gerrard in his team as he paired him alongside Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric in the centre of the park.
The Dutchman honestly accepted the fact that he’d have had Andres Iniesta in his side but opted to go with Gerrard now due to his Liverpool connection.
Additionally, Slot also believes Gerrard deserves a mention as the likes of Iniesta and Zinedine Zidane had the privilege of always playing alongside world-class players, which wasn’t necessarily the case for the former Liverpool captain.
"If you had asked me this a year ago, I would have probably said Iniesta, but I think now I am going to go for Steven Gerrard, being the Liverpool manager,” said Slot on Amazon Prime Video’s YouTube channel.
“Why he might deserve to be in my team is that the other ones, like Iniesta and like Zinedine Zidane, they played with incredible teammates, and, of course, Steven Gerrard played with good to really good teammates.”
“But I don't think he played with the same level of players that Iniesta or Zidane played with. And then still being so special for the club, winning, lifting the trophy once, playing for so long for this club."
Gerrard’s UEFA Champions League record for Liverpool
Gerrard made 73 appearances in the competition and won it in 2005 in Istanbul as he played a pivotal role in Liverpool’s comeback against AC Milan.
Read More:Jamie Carragher predicts how Steven Gerrard has reacted to Arne Slot's time at Liverpool so far
The legendary grabbed several games but the scruff of its neck, scoring 21 goals and providing 14 assists in the competition.
Until Jurgen Klopp came along, he was the Reds’ highest goalscorer in the competition but was eclipsed by Sadio Mane (24), Roberto Firmino (22) and Mohamed Salah (42), who still has the chance to add to his tally in the coming years.
