Arsenal and Mikel Arteta granted Roberto Firmino’s wish as Liverpool prepare for exciting move

Roberto Firmino was instrumental in Liverpool’s recent success and proved to be a thorn in Arsenal’s side during his eight-year tenure

Another member of Liverpool’s iconic trio Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will cheer on the Kop for the last time as the Brazilian departs to end the season.

Anfield said goodbye to the flamboyant Firmino against Aston Villa on Saturday as his eight-year stay at Merseyside comes to an end.

The 31-year-old joined TSG Hoffenheim from the Bundesliga aged 23 for £22m. He has since made over 360 appearances for Liverpool and has become the most used player under the management of Jurgen Klopp.

To add to his prolific spell with the Reds, he’s picked up medals in recent seasons for the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup and both domestic cup victories. However, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, it was confirmed that the Brazil international would leave at the end of the season.

During his career at Liverpool, Firmino scored 109 goals, 80 of which came in the English top flight. In 23 appearances this season, he’s scored nine goals during a difficult season for Klopp’s side and has struggled with injuries in recent weeks that initially left his departure to Villans in doubt this weekend.

However, the German boss has confirmed he has been training for his last hurrah in L4 this week while James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are among those saying goodbye.

Robbie Fowler loved playing against Villa, Fernando Torres could always be counted on to score a goal against Chelsea and Norwch City were delighted to see Luis Suarez depart after three hat-tricks against the Canaries. At the same time, several clubs will be happy to see Firmino again.

One of them is Arsenal. The Gunners again fell victim to a goal from the Brazilian in a thrilling 2-2 draw which hurt the North London clubs’ title aspirations.

Trent Alexander-Arnold left Oleksandr Zinchenko for dead before handing him over for Firmino who nodded past Aaron Ramsdale. The 31-year-old has scored more goals against Arsenal than any other club. In 18 appearances, the striker scored 11 times and his joy against the London club began in his debut season. Lui grabbed a brace in a 3-3 draw in 2016, but his highlight was his 5-1 win at Anfield during their Champions League winning campaign.

His hat-trick helped Klopp’s side meet the challenge of Unai Emery’s side and saw Liverpool score in each of their last three meetings with the Gunners.

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Watford, who have fluctuated between the Premier League and the Championship in recent seasons, are another club who have fallen short of the 31-year-old’s sights. After meeting the Hornets for the first time, he scored four goals in six meetings and ahead of relegation to English football’s second tier last season, grabbed the ball with an impressive hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Victoria Road.

Luckily for Leicester City, Firmino has missed both meetings this season with injury but suffered defeats in both games as he looked down on the fall. The Foxes are another side he enjoyed playing against six goals in 14 Premier League matches and scored twice both times as the Reds netted four against Kasper Schmeichel.

Like the Leicestershire side, Crystal Palace have failed to undo the Brazilian who outran the Eagles six times during his Premier League spell.

In the season in which Liverpool defended their first Premier League title, Firmino faced two impressive wins at Selhurst Park as the Reds hit the home side seven times. Manchester City have been a club locked in a title fight for several years, as Klopp battled with opponent Pep Guardiola both domestically and internationally during his reign in England. One of the most memorable encounters took place in the Champions League at the Etihad Stadium en route to the final in Kyiv.

Firmino swept possession away from Nicolas Otamendi and then passed Ederson to give the Reds a 2-1 lead and a four-goal advantage that night after Salah canceled out Gabriel Jesus’ opener within two minutes.

He scored four other goals against the Citizens during his career at Anfield, all of them in the Premier League.

Firmino’s departure marks a changing of the guard in the Reds’ formidable strike force. For years, Klopp’s top three created fear in defense as Salah, Sadio Mane and the Brazilian proved insurmountable with their goals.

After the Senegalese icon left for Bayern Munich last summer, coinciding with former wingers Roma’s contract extension, the 31-year-old’s departure marks the latest departure for the iconic trio.

Firmino may have arrived as an unknown Brazilian but he leaves behind a full-fledged Liverpool icon and Arsenal will be happy he is no longer harassing them in a red shirt.

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