The former Arsenal manager believes the match against Everton could provide the spark Salah needs to get his form back.
Arsene Wenger thought Mohamed Salah was back to his best in Liverpool’s win against Everton in the Merseyside derby.
The Egyptian scored the opener in the 36th minute and was also involved in the build-up when Cody Gakpo doubled his lead after the break.
After scoring just once in eight matches in all competitions, Salah’s form had been called into question. But former Arsenal manager Wenger praised the 30-year-old’s performance and believes he could give him confidence ahead of the big trip to Newcastle United on Saturday. “Tonight we saw the Salah again, winning challenges, changing pace and being present in the build-up,” Wenger told beIN Sports. “After the World Cup, he looked like he played in the World Cup because he couldn’t find his acceleration.
“Tonight was the first time I saw him as we know him – a world-class player, deadly in the end. He missed two or three other chances, but scored the first goal. That will give him trust. We will now see how it goes. All in all, it was an important night for Salah.”
In total, Salah has managed 18 goals and seven assists in 32 games this year. Impressively, just three goals off becoming Liverpool’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League era as he looks to surpass Robbie Fowler’s record of 128.
Signing from AS Roma for £43m in 2017, Salah was at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s success. He has played a major role in helping Liverpool win the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Club World Cup. The former Chelsea striker signed a new contract last summer to stay at Anfield until 2025.
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp talks to his players
Liverpool made three changes to their 24-man Champions League squad in the second half of the season, including Cody Gakpo, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Reds have made full use of their three allocated changes, including their January signing and midfield duo, who were both ruled out in the first half of the season through injury.
Luis Diaz is also included as he continues to recover from knee surgery. The Colombian is expected to return in March so he’s unlikely to face Real Madrid in the round of 16.
With Gakpo, Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain all included, Liverpool have sidelined Calvin Ramsay and Arthur Melo, while Stefan Bajcetic drops to the B-list after two years as a Reds player. Rhys Williams and Kaide Gordon also join the B-list, while Luke Chambers is removed after joining Kilmarnock on loan.
In total, this means that there have been five additions to the combined picklists (Gakpo/Keita/Oxlade-Chamberlain/Williams/Gordon), with two players retiring (Ramsay/Melo) and one moving on (Chambers ).
Ramsay made his Liverpool debut in the Champions League against Napoli in November, but has been limited to just two appearances through injury since he completed his summer move from Aberdeen. With James Milner and Joe Gomez able to play at right-back, Klopp made the decision to drop the 19-year-old.
Meanwhile, Arthur made his only Liverpool appearance to date against Napoli in September, coming off the bench in the last 13 minutes as the Reds were defeated 4-1. The Brazilian will undergo thigh surgery in October and will return to training in the coming weeks, but as Klopp has 10 other major midfielders, the decision has been made to leave the Juventus mercenary out.
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