Russell Martin ESCAPES another sentence at the Arne Slot Penitentiary

Arne Slot has made a stunning start as Liverpool head coach. He’s won 19 of his 23 matches so far, drawing three and losing only one.

And while the Reds have come slightly unstuck over the last couple of Premier League fixtures - drawing against Newcastle and Fulham - the Dutchman has already put plenty of storied managers to the sword.

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Liverpool boast wins this season against the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen. And although Slot is a rookie at Premier League level, he has wasted no time getting to grips with the demands at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

His strong start has brought with it a revival of the "Penitentiary" meme which first originated around Arsenal in 2021. During the early days of Mikel Arteta’s reign, Arsenal supporters began to welcome opposition managers to the “Mikel Arteta penitentiary”.

Welcome to the Arne Slot Penitentiary

The meme then gained wings, being utilised by other fan bases online such as Chelsea and Manchester United. But perhaps the latest and greatest iteration of the meme has come in the early part of Slot’s regime.

After every scalp claimed, a version of it appears on X, formerly Twitter, announcing another inmate. There is a video attached to it these days with Slot being superimposed over a goals and skills compilation of Kylian Mbappe.

It has become a tradition among Liverpool supporters to reference the Arne Slot penitentiary after every win. No one is spared with some of the most storied and successful managers in the game being locked up already.

Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Xabi Alonso and more have all ended up behind bars this term.

And with Southampton again on the horizon for the Reds it looks like one manager will ESCAPE the Arne Slot penitentiary for a second time this season.

Russell Martin oversaw a run of one Premier League win in 16 matches, sticking to his gameplan despite calls for him to tighten things up.

Russell Martin ESCAPES Arne Slot penitentiary again

The Saints are rock bottom of the league, conceding 11 goals in their last three matches.

Their brave 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool last month has already led to one sentence for Martin in Arne Slot's infamous jail but he won't be heading there again no matter the outcome of their next meeting.

That's because Martin’s run as Southampton manager came to an end on Sunday following a 5-0 humiliation against Tottenham at St. Mary’s. Spurs were 5-0 up by half-time with plenty of home fans opting to leave the ground rather than stay and watch the second half.

It was a disastrous crescendo for the Martin regime, which began in stunning fashion with an unexpected promotion from the Championship last season. Alas it has come to an end for the 38-year-old, who always wore his heart on his sleeve, ahead of the Saints’ next fixture against Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Under-21 boss Simon Rusk has been placed in interim charge by the Southampton ownership and Liverpool will be hoping that there is no new manager bounce this week.

The two sides meet in the EFL Cup quarter-finals at St. Mary’s with Slot eyeing progression in one of FOUR competitions that the Reds want to win in his debut season.

And with Southampton staring relegation from the top flight in the face, they could be forgiven for having other priorities during a busy period than the League Cup.

That means Russell Martin will have had a lucky escape and won’t be an inmate again in the Arne Slot penitentiary any time soon. However, Simon Rusk, you better watch out.

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