How Mikel Arteta reduced Mohamed Salah’s goal record by 50% in Arsenal vs Liverpool matches

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Arsenal’s upcoming clash with Liverpool will see Mohamed Salah play at the Emirates Stadium, with the Egyptian a daunting figure for any Premier League defence.

Salah is one of the greatest goalscorers in Premier League history, and the winger has terrorised Arsenal on many occasions over the years.

The 32-year-old was absent as Arsenal beat Liverpool 3-1 at the Emirates last season, but he is now returning to North London, and with both Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber facing injury problems, he may be excited at the prospect of potentially facing Oleksandr Zinchenko again.

Mikel Arteta has dramatically improved Arsenal’s record against Liverpool, but an underrated aspect of this is how he has learned to deal with the threat of Salah.

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Mohamed Salah’s record vs Arsenal has halved since Arteta joined

Salah faced Arsenal with Liverpool in five Premier League matches before Arteta became Arsenal manager in 2019.

In these games against Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery’s sides, Salah scored five times in five games, at a rate of 1 goal per game.

Liverpool won three of these clashes, with Arsenal securing home draws in two of these games, but Arteta improved this.

Arteta beat Liverpool in his first match against them, with Salah failing to score. In eight matches against Arteta’s Arsenal, Salah has scored four times, at a rate of 0.5 goals per game, with his output halved.

How Arteta prepares Arsenal to face Mohamed Salah

Arsenal recorded an iconic 3-2 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates two seasons ago, and Salah failed to make an impact before he was substituted in the 69th minute.

Arteta sprung a surprise that day as Takehiro Tomiyasu started at left-back, but the Japan star was truly outstanding, shutting Salah out of the game with ease, and he was chosen over Kieran Tierney for this specific purpose.

Arteta will now have to come up with another solution, which could come in the form of youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly, to shut Salah out in the upcoming match, which could go a long way in the title race.