Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Sunderland - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - December 3, 2025
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds fans after the match REUTERS
Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Sunderland - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - December 3, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds fans after the match REUTERS
Virgil van Dijk says Mohamed Salah's omission from Liverpool's team for a second successive match shows no player at the club has "unlimited credit".
The Egypt international was an unused substitute for Sunday's win at West Ham and was on the bench for the 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland on Wednesday.
It was the first time in his Anfield career that he had not started in back-to-back league matches.
The forward was brought on for the second half against Sunderland but struggled to make an impact and is now goalless in five matches. Salah has scored just four Premier League goals for the struggling defending champions this season, in stark contrast to his haul of 29 last season.
Liverpool captain Van Dijk was asked after the Sunderland draw whether Salah's omission had sent a message to the dressing room. "That's always been the case," he said. "It's not like you have unlimited credit, everyone has to perform. Mo has been doing that but the manager made that decision in the last two games. We all want the best for the club. I am pretty sure Mo will still be a big part of what we are trying to achieve because he is an amazing player and he has shown it consistently."
Van Dijk praised playmaker Florian Wirtz, whose shot deflected in off Sunderland defender Nordi Mukiele for a late Liverpool equaliser that left them eighth in the table. The German, who joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window for £116 million ($155 million), is showing encouraging signs after a tough start to life at Anfield.
"There's a very good reason why a club like us bought him," said Van Dijk. "He's an outstanding, world-class player, in my eyes, who can only become even better but it will take a bit of time. For him he has to stay level-headed. Don't get dragged into the outside world of when it's very good or very bad and don't get dragged into the numbers game. Nowadays there are a lot of eyes on you if you score goals or have an assist or keep clean sheets but it is also about what you see and the contribution you have for the team."
Arteta fears injury woes will hamper Arsenal title charge
Mikel Arteta fears Arsenal's mounting injury problems will hamper their bid to win the Premier League title after Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera limped off in Wednesday's 2-0 win against Brentford. Arteta's side moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester City thanks to goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches in all competitions with an eighth successive home victory.
But Arteta, already without first-choice centre-backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba through injury, was dealt a blow when Spanish defender Mosquera was forced off just before half-time. Even more alarmingly, England midfielder Declan Rice appeared to be nursing a calf injury when he was substituted 10 minutes from full-time.
"Obviously it's never good news. Declan had to come off. We don't know. We have to see tomorrow what he's got," said Arteta, who is also without Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard due to injuries. "Declan can walk. He cannot play. The thing is, he's played a lot of minutes but as well, now we played Wednesday night and we have to play Saturday morning as well."
With Arsenal having battled through a gruelling week featuring wins over Tottenham and Bayern Munich and a draw with title rivals Chelsea, Arteta had taken the opportunity to give a rest to Saka, Jurrien Timber and Eberechi Eze against the Bees. But all three were eventually needed off the bench, leaving Arteta to bemoan Arsenal's injury curse and question the Premier League fixture schedule ahead of a testing trip to in-form Aston Villa for Saturday's early kick-off.
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