Arsene Wenger, former Arsenal manager thinks Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah has the potential to match Lionel Messi. However, he reveals that this was only a possibility if the winger was less selfish in the final third.
The Egypt International shares similar playing characteristics with Messi and can become even better if he reduces his obsession for tucking the ball into the net according to the French gaffer.
Wenger believes Salah is very much like Messi but believes the Egyptians game is still missing a few crucial ingredients.
He stressed that the forward had to know when to take a goal himself and when to pass on to a teammate.
“He’s 20 goals away basically, if you want to be as concrete as possible,” the ex-Arsenal boss told beIN Sports
“But he is similar to Messi. He must still find the consistency of Messi. I find him a just as good finisher but Messi is the complete thing – he gives the final ball as well and Salah is a bit obsessed now by finishing himself so that’s a dimension he’ll get certainly when he gets a little bit older. To find the moment when you have to give the ball and when you have to finish.
“I like him very much, he has huge potential.”
The Egypt International was criticised following his refusal to pass the ball to teammate Mane in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Burnley with the Senegalese forward having to be in a better position to take a shot.
On the other hand, Wenger was full of praise for Brazikian striker, Firmino who according to him has been selfless. He described as a generous striker who performed like Suarez while playing alongside Neymar and Messi.
“You forget the guy that sacrifices himself a little bit is Firmino,” he said.
“Like Luis Suarez did for Messi and Neymar. A guy that works for the team, that works for everybody and gets them to shine.
“This piece of the jigsaw is very hard to find – a striker that is generous.”