Mo Salah is arguably in the form of his career at the moment and if there was ever an example of this, it was an exemplary performance against Manchester City.
For the first time since 2015, Liverpool won a league game at the Etihad Stadium and speaking after the match, Arsene Wenger was full of praise for our Egyptian King:
“67% possession for Man City, 2-0 for Liverpool and this is down to people who have a level above like Salah.
“He scored a goal and made an assist. And I read somewhere that he contributed, with his goals and assists that are 38 together, to 31 points of Liverpool this season, so you cannot rule him out for any special award.
“This guy is exceptional and what I love the most in his career, he became better and better every year, more clinical.
“He does less quantity today. But he doesn’t lose in quality and that shows that he’s not only a great talent but as well a very intelligent player…
“I played against Salah when he created six chances and scored one goal. Today he creates maybe two chances and he scores two goals, you know, and what I like in his career.
“In his development, he has found a good balance between obsession to score goals and giving the ball.
“We had a period where between him and [Sadio] Mane, remember there were tensions because everybody tried to score without passing the ball.
“He understands that to be really great, he as well [has] to contribute and he has done that extremely well.”
It feels very much like the weight of support behind our No.11 for the Ballon d’Or is growing and he’s looking more likely to receive the esteemed accolade.
Mo Salah has been head and shoulders above the rest this season
However, as supporters our main focus will be on wanting the team to win and that is perhaps another reason to admire the performances of the Egyptian.
The former Arsenal manager reflected on periods when the winger would be more selfish in the final third but now his focus is on how his team can score – rather than just himself.
That still allows the former Roma man to get more than his fair share of finishes but it also leads to a more varied and potent attack.
After sharing the story of a meeting with Virgil van Dijk following the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, it feels clear that the senior members of the squad are determined to bring success this season.
With so many campaigns ending by being painfully close to ultimate success, now they have all realised how big the opportunity is to be the best.
The Egyptian King has even commented on how his job is much harder than that of a Erling Haaland, who doesn’t have to be as involved in the build-up.
We saw in Manchester on Sunday the amount of defensive work Mo is willing to put in too, we all hope this isn’t his final season as a Red but the club legend is currently playing every game like it’s his last.
You can view Wenger’s comments on Salah via @beINSPORTS_EN on X:
🗣️ "You can't rule him out for any special award, this guy is exceptional. What I love the most in his career? He became better and better every year."
Arsene Wenger on @MoSalah's Ballon d'Or chances!#beINPL #MCILIV #LFC pic.twitter.com/rMtUY5xXcK
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) February 23, 2025
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