Mohamed Salah’s form has come under scrutiny but Danny Murphy has insisted he’d still pick the Liverpool star over Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.
Salah has been of the very best and most consistent performers within the Premier League over the previous couple of seasons, helping Liverpool win the title last term.
Arne Slot’s side have struggled in the course of the 2025-26 campaign, though, with the Reds eighth within the top-flight table after their opening 11 matches.
Salah will likely be prolific however the 33-year-old Egyptian international winger has only registered two goals in his last seven Premier League games.
Saka, meanwhile, has been in strong form, with the 24-year-old winger scoring in Arsenal’s Champions League win over Slavia Prague and the top-flight draw with Sunderland before netting for England on Thursday.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive evaluation, FPL suggestions and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – join, it’s an open goal.
But despite helping Arsenal to the highest of the Premier League table and go unbeaten to date on this season’s Champions League, football pundit and ex-Liverpool midfielder Murphy still wouldn’t pick Saka over Salah.
‘I’d probably just still go along with Salah because he can rating goals from anywhere,’ Murphy told talkSPORT. ‘You already know, he’s just got this knack of scoring unbelievable goals more repeatedly.’
Murphy urges Slot to make change over Salah
Liverpool head coach Slot has relieved Salah of any defensive duties, instructing him to remain forward to maximise his output in the ultimate third.
This tactic worked last season – with Salah allowed to attack greater than under previous boss Jurgen Klopp – but it surely hasn’t been successful this term.
Murphy has urged Slot to make a change over Salah following Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last outing.
‘Giving Salah the license to not defend against a left-back who loves going forward and isn’t even a left-back in [Nico] O’Reilly, who has been good recently, I couldn’t consider what I used to be watching to be honest,’ Murphy said.
‘I don’t know the way he (Slot) can keep watching the identical thing and never change it.
‘And it’s not like Salah can’t do the running, he hasn’t asked him to see if he can.
‘He doesn’t should do it each time, but he has spent so long not doing it.
‘Last season, Salah got here out and said he was having fun with it more because he doesn’t should defend as much as he did with Klopp.
‘Nevertheless it’s just time and time again, and I don’t think he must be dropped because he’s such a threat, but I feel you’ve got to inform him to defend.’
Salah has conjured up 250 goals and 116 assists across 417 games for Liverpool to this point.
MORE: Arsenal fans fume over fresh details of Gabriel injury
MORE: Chelsea make U-turn over ‘bomb squad’ member with player set to make return
MORE: Carlo Ancelotti sends message to Enzo Maresca over £51m Chelsea signing