Arne Slot has two new Liverpool transfer priorities after draw vs Arsenal

Liverpool's contract focus is rightly being placed Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold given the proximity of June's expiry dates. So far, only Van Dijk has admitted that talks have begun over a renewal.

Liverpool will sit down with his two colleagues at some stage and may have already begun to do so, with the futures of all three the main transfer objectives for this season. Their importance was highlighted against Arsenal.

Van Dijk showed his goal threat is still as strong as his defensive work for the first equaliser. And then Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant ball through to Darwin Nunez for Salah’s goal only further reminded fans of the current contract situation.

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It would be wrong, however, to pin all of Liverpool’s good work at the Emirates solely onto the trio. The efforts of Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones and Caoimhin Kelleher should not be left unacknowledged.

There were two other players who stood out during the game before their substitutions, for differing reasons. Luis Diaz was arguably Liverpool’s most potent-looking threat for the first hour and has enjoyed an appetising start to the season.

Five goals puts him as the club’s second-highest scorer this season behind Salah. There was speculation surrounding his future this summer, although Liverpool themselves were never worried about an exit.

But should his form continue this term, then there is bound to be more interest from afar next year, especially with Cody Gakpo competing for his game time at Anfield. Diaz’s contract does not expire until 2027, which means Liverpool are in no danger of him leaving for nothing any time soon.

Of course, that is the possibility for Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, hence why they will be given primary attention. But as soon as their futures are sorted, the next port of call when it comes to contracts ought to be Diaz.

Liverpool would be a worse team without him, the Colombian always proving to be a threat and very rarely going missing during games. His on-the-ball assets and fantastic work rate is not that easily replaced.

A one-year extension onto his current deal with boosted terms will dispel any thoughts in the player’s mind about a potential transfer and signal his importance to the team. It’s such players Arne Slot needs to keep hold of to ensure the club remains at the top table throughout his tenure.

Meanwhile, the head coach might be thinking about his plans for left-back. Andy Robertson has been a noble servant for more than seven years, but, due to turn 31 in March, there is a sense time is catching up.

Bukayo Saka, seven years his junior, had him backtracking for most of Sunday's one-on-one duels and was done relatively easily for the opening goal for a player of his ilk. Not for the first time this calendar year, he was beaten on a number of occasions with pace looking like a real problem for him to deal with.

It would be premature and wrong to say Robertson should be offloaded. The Scotland captain still has 18 months left on his deal and has much to give in that time. He’s not quite into his swan song just yet.

But it is telling that Kostas Tsimikas looked a more assured presence in the role upon his substitution for Robertson, probably for the first time against a top-six club. It’s not time to say goodbye yet, but there is a sense that it isn’t overly far down the line.

After this season, Slot needs to think about the future of other players in his squad. Diaz and Robertson showed against Arsenal why they might be on separate lists going forward.