Slot answered a number of questions regarding his sides performance in what was a game that sent a message to the rest of the Premier League.
The Dutchman spoke about the win with a smile on his face and praised his side for their performance.
“I think even though it's a friendly, you always want to aim for a win. You should aim for a win even if you have a small-sided game during a training session. You need to win your games; you try to do everything to win. So that's a good thing that we did that today but I'm more pleased about the way we did so. Of course, I saw the second half that we had a hard time with Arsenal – they dominated possession completely. But we defended really well and I was really pleased to see this because (there were) a lot of bodies behind the ball every time they arrived into our 16.”
“Real big, open chances I don't think they created in the second half. First half, after the first 10 minutes, it was an equal game, where both teams could have scored a few goals more. So, (I'm) pleased to see how we played the first half and how we defended the second half.”
Mohamed Salah came back from preseason in the shape of his life and Slot spoke about how incredible he has been to work with.
“He came back really fit, but from what's been told to me that's normal for him. He always comes back really fit. But if I only use Mo as an example, I would not be fair to the other (senior) guys because the others are strong and fit as well. One of the main positive things until now is all the boys are fit, we have no injuries at all, so we hope we can continue like this and their fitness levels go up and up more.”
“We felt today how hard it is and how tough it is to play against a team that wants to press us high – and we want to press them high. So, you need to be really fit to play games like this and we are working on this. We are heading in the right direction.”
Harvey Elliott provided two assists against Arsenal and was phenomenal throughout the game, Slot had nothing but praise for the midfielder.
“He had two great assists, but what I believe is that the team created these assists for him as well. Playing out from the back, getting him in the right positions – or another No.10. Then it is up to him to bring the most of these situations and he did that today with two assists. If I am a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could have done better. But that's what the team is doing for him; we make sure he and the other ones like Mo and like Fabio come in the right positions where they can show their quality. Harvey did that today with two good assists.”
Diogo Jota also made a great appearance late on and Slot spoke on how intelligent his cameo was.
“Yes, he did. I think that helps to have someone who naturally plays in that position. Although Arsenal were man-v-man all over the place, then it helps if you have a striker who is smart and is intelligent, knows when to make the deep runs knows when to hold the ball. I think it was him who bounced the ball towards Harvey, where Harvey could give the assist to Mo. It helps to have someone used to this position, especially if you play a team that is man-v-man all over the pitch.”