According to Alex Zinchenko, Liverpool have an attacker who is truly better than Riyad Mahrez

Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has named Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as his toughest opponent ever.

Zinchenko has struggled quite a bit with Salah over the years, both at Manchester City and now at Arsenal. The Ukrainian mainly plays at left-back and has often been used directly against Mo.

When asked by Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel FIVE what is the toughest player he has ever played against, Zinchenko’s response was perhaps unsurprising.

“I think it’s salah, I think it’s salah,” the 26-year-old replied. “With all due respect to others, including Riyad [Mahrez] because I played against him at Leicester. He is [Salah] an absolutely explosive and unstoppable fuller.

“What Liverpool did so well, especially when [Gini] Wijnaldum was there, because Wijnaldum is more box-to-box. Community Shield game against Liverpool [in 2019], penalties, we won that game. Mikel [ Arteta] was still there and I went into the dressing room at half time and said, ‘Mikel, what am I supposed to do with this?

“‘[Virgil] Van Dijk on the ball, plays left with right foot, no pressure, strikes first, Wijnaldum runs behind me and [Nicolas] Otamendi, I have to protect inside, Salah sinks, the ball at his feet and distance between me and Salah, 50 meters. Imagine his pace against me, I’m done. What should I do, there were about five balls like that in a row.

“He said: ‘The only way is to ask Raz (Sterling), who was playing on the left, to go a little further to leave Trent. “Staying with Salah is a big gap for Wijnaldum. And if Mo puts the ball at his feet and picks up the pace…it’s impossible, impossible.”

Zinchenko pays tribute to Salah

Anyone who has ever seen Zinchenko take on Salah knows exactly what the Arsenal man is talking about here.

Whenever Pep Guardiola decided to use the Ukraine international against the Reds, it was always good news. He just didn’t know how to behave around Mo.

It’s no news that the Egyptian King of Liverpool is one of the toughest players of this generation. His records speak for themselves and regardless of his age, he always seems to be one step ahead of his opponents.

Still, Salah often doesn’t get the recognition he deserves in the world of football. So it’s nice to hear that he does his duty from time to time.

It’s also interesting to hear Zinchenko talk about the role Wijnaldum played in making Salah a tougher proposition. Gini was another whose hard work often went unnoticed, but that only underlines that he was absolutely crucial to everything Liverpool did.

Two years after his departure, the Reds may still need to replace him. New signing Alexis Mac Allister appears to be closest to that goal, but it’s still early days for him.

With Liverpool giving off some negativity due to a lack of transfer deals, it’s nice to think back on those happy days. Of course, Zinchenko has yet to face Salah and you can bet Mo will find out. Next time might be the hardest for Alex.

More news……

A defender for West Ham is in advanced talks with Liverpool.

If conditions at the London Stadium weren’t already dire, it appears that West Ham will lose one of their highly regarded defenders to Liverpool.

It’s unclear whether David Moyes personally, Tim Steidten, the new technical director, or owner David Sullivan are to blame for the manager’s inability to make any purchases in the current transfer market.

Realistically, it doesn’t really matter who is at fault because it is imperative that new players enter the game right away.

East Londoners should be doing everything in their power to stop the vultures from circling rather than allowing other players to leave the game, even though it’s probably too late for Amara Nallo.

According to Football Insider, the 16-year-old is in advanced negotiations with the Reds, which raises the question of what the Reds’ recruitment department is up to given that he reportedly only recently signed a scholarship contract with the Hammers.

It’s mentioned by Football Insider that the player will be able to sign professional contracts when he turns 17 in November, but that still doesn’t explain how Liverpool managed to snag one of the up-and-coming talents from under the noses of the east Londoners.

It appears as though West Ham is operating in a total panic, making poor decisions left and right.