Mo Salah turns on the mind games with cheeky response to Arsenal fan at PFA awards | OneFootball

Mo Salah appears to have turned on the mind games with his response to one prominent Arsenal supporter at the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) awards on Tuesday.

The Egyptian made history at the event by becoming the first man to win the PFA Player of the Year prize on three occasions, having also scooped the honour in 2018 and 2022, just days after ticking off another unique accolade by scoring a record 10th goal on the opening weekend of a Premier League season in Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Bournemouth.

The 33-year-old lifted the English top-flight title for a second time earlier this year as Arne Slot’s side ultimately accelerated away from Arsenal, who had to settle for the runners-up spot for the third successive campaign.

Salah claims Arsenal are Premier League favourites

Salah was speaking to Cecil Thomas of AFTV fame at the PFA awards yesterday, telling the presenter that the Gunners are now the favourites to finally get over the line this season due to the stability in Mikel Arteta’s squad.

The Reds forward said (via Evening Standard): “I think you have a great team this season as you did last season, so you have really good chance. I think you are the favourite now because you have players who have been together for five years.”

Perhaps conscious that he might’ve been too respectful to Liverpool’s direct rivals, the 33-year-old then remarked: “I can’t say I’ll wish you luck – hopefully we do it again!”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

A bit of mind games from Salah?

It would’ve been a source of immense frustration for Arsenal fans to see Slot coming in at Anfield and guiding the Reds (who finished third and fifth in the preceding two seasons) to the Premier League title at his first attempt.

It’s undeniable that Arteta has transformed the Gunners since taking charge midway through the 2019/20 campaign, turning them from an upper mid-table team into genuine title challengers, but ultimately he’s yet to deliver the biggest prize in English football after more than half a decade at the helm.

The north Londoners weren’t exactly swashbuckling in their 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday, when they were perhaps fortunate to come away with all three points, but LFC fans will relate to the hard-fought nature of the result from some of our own victories in our title-winning 2024/25 season.

Viktor Gyokeres should make Arsenal a more potent attacking force this term, but he’ll have to perform miracles if he’s to replicate the impact that Salah had in his debut campaign at Liverpool (44 goals) and has consistently had ever since he came to Anfield in 2017.

The Gunners could be in the title mix yet again, but the champions have the chance to lay down an early marker of intent when they host Arteta’s side in L4 at the end of this month!