Walk On: How Arne Slot Led Liverpool to Premier League Glory

by James Pearce

‘The story of an unforgettable season’ Virgil van DijkThe definitive chronicle of Liverpool's footballing renaissance under Arne Slot, filled with exclusive interviews and unparalleled insight

An engrossing and inspiring account of a new manager’s remarkable rise to prominence.

Arne Slot arrived at Liverpool FC with little fanfare but a burning ambition. As a relatively unknown figure in English football, his appointment was met with scepticism. How could he hope to step into the shoes of the club’s greatest manager of the modern era? High drama and era-defining results would follow; unprecedented achievements, and pain too. But what was it like from the inside?

James Pearce, Liverpool correspondent for the Athletic, draws on exclusive interviews and unparalleled behind-the-scenes insight to tell an unmissable story of a season, and a Premier League victory, like no other.

From Slot’s beginnings as ‘The Bergkamp of Bergentheim’ to Liverpool’s deft use of player data; from the high drama of turning-point matches to the backroom negotiations around keeping talent like Mohammad Salah at Anfield, Pearce retells Liverpool’s dramatic recent history in enthralling detail and at addictive pace.

Walk On is the book for any Liverpool fan to understand just how Slot transformed Liverpool into Premier League champions, and how he intends to keep them there.

With an exclusive interview with Liverpool chairman Tom Werner, the book also features conversations with Arne Slot, chief executive Billy Hogan, captain Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Harvey Elliott, former assistant manager Pep Lijnders, former director of research Ian Graham, and a number of ex-Liverpool players including Sander Westerveld and Dirk Kuyt.

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2025

Reviews

[Harry]

Having read this during the early months of 2026, Pearce’s recounting of Arne Slot’s inaugural year as coach made for an almost disorienting read at times. The same qualities and traits that were highlighted on the page as points of praise in the previous campaign were simultaneously being panned when I turned from the book to the screen. I wonder what I would have made of the book had I read Walk On before everything went so wrong for Slot in his second season, but nonetheless Pearce’s insights were just as interesting when laid alongside the slow-motion trainwreck that was occurring in real-time. A book that will now serve as a potent exclamation mark for the idea that we are doomed to forever skew our analysis based on results above all else. As sports books go, this is a strong entry that will perhaps not be appreciated as it should but it stands out for Pearce's efficient and illuminating account that reflects his usual excellent standards as a journalist.

[Emma Govan]

fantastic read, beautiful summary of the title winning season, I cried at the last chapter

[Louise Pearce]

Great read

Enjoyed the behind the scenes insights and the Slot’s first season was recaptured well in this book. Would recommend to all LFC fans.