Arne Slot might already have the answer to biggest Liverpool problem Jürgen Klopp leaves behind

"Somebody else can sort that next season," Jürgen Klopp said as Liverpool beat Spurs at Anfield last weekend. Just over a week later, there was a familiar issue on display against Aston Villa.

Quite simply, Liverpool is leaving far too much to chance at the moment. While it is hard playing with nothing really on the line other than the chance to end the Klopp era on a high in terms of results, there can be no doubt that the Reds need to rediscover an element of control again.

Manchester City and Arsenal will both finish ahead of Liverpool this season and it is no coincidence that both are much better at dominating and dictating matches. With Klopp's side, everything is just a little bit too hectic and open. Jhon Durán's equalizer was fortunate but Liverpool allowed the scenario to unfold.

READ MORE: Arne Slot to Liverpool confirmation moves a step closer as one issue resolved

READ MORE: Pep Lijnders lined up for exciting new role where he could even face Liverpool next season

It is the chief problem that Arne Slot will need to find a solution for this summer: trying to get Liverpool back to being able to dominate matches as it did at its best. It has the players — Alexis Mac Allister, at least when he doesn't look exhausted, is ideal for that, as just one example — but Liverpool hasn't quite managed to get the balance right many times this season.

Ironically, probably the best example of when the Reds were dominant and in complete control was against Aston Villa — at Anfield back in September. That was the most complete performance of the campaign, but it hasn't been seen often enough.

With Slot coming in, bringing back the dominant element of Liverpool's game is his primary task before next season kicks off. But the Dutchman might already have the ideal method of solidifying the Reds.

Often at Feyenoord, he has played with a double pivot rather than a lone number six in midfield. While at its peak, Liverpool can dominate with only one player doing the holding role — Mac Allister — it requires each midfield player to be playing at their best for that to work in practice.

Mac Allister needs to be 100 per cent on it to be able to think far enough ahead to anticipate the danger and alongside him, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai need to be performing at an elite level on and off the ball. In recent times, though, Mac Allister has looked ready for a rest and Jones and Szoboszlai have been out of the team.

Wataru Endō is a good deputy but he isn't of the same level and Harvey Elliott offers more going forward than he does going back. It looks like too big a risk to play the same way when first-choice players are either out of the team or unable to perform at their best.

In hindsight, perhaps the pragmatic way of playing over the last month to six weeks — with injuries forcing players out, those who were just coming back not yet at their peak sharpness, and Mac Allister having lost his energy — would have been to bring another player into the center to shore things up.

What if Liverpool had moved to a 4-2-3-1 system and been a little more defensive-oriented for the last few weeks? Even with the same starting trio in midfield as were there against Aston Villa, it would have been possible — Mac Allister and Endō as a two, with Elliott as a number 10 — and it wouldn't have necessarily have had to be like that all game. When Liverpool was 3-1 up, that was the obvious move.

In that set-up, there would have been an extra insurance policy available when mistakes were made and gaps left too big. Given Slot has played that way before, it is certainly something Liverpool should think about moving forward.