Sports Mole examines whether Mohamed Salah should be considered as an automatic pick on the right side of attack in a Premier League all-time XI.
Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s second goal against Arsenal to help his side earn a valuable point at the Emirates last weekend, and in doing so the legendary winger reminded people that he is among the Premier League’s greatest ever forwards.
Bukayo Saka stole the show in the first half, dancing past Andrew Robertson to net the Gunners’ first of the game after less than 10 minutes, and he was arguably the best player on the pitch.
The attacker is correctly regarded as one of the league’s most influential right-wingers, but Salah showed in the second half that the Arsenal man still has some way to go before claiming the Egyptian’s crown as the best right-sided attacker in the division.
The Reds forward scored an 81st-minute equaliser when Darwin Nunez squared the ball to the winger after racing into the box, and the goal took Salah to joint eighth in the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts, level with Robbie Fowler on 163 goals.
The 32-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down having already scored six times and produced five assists in nine league games, but with his contract expiring at the end of the current campaign, there is a possibility that 2024-25 could be his final season in the English top flight.
Salah has already cemented himself as a Reds legend, and he has certainly made a case to be considered the best right-winger in the history of the Premier League.
Salah’s astonishing record in numbers
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The Egyptian has been incredibly productive in the final third during his time at Liverpool, and he is in fact just 12 shy of equalling Thierry Henry‘s league tally of 175 goals.
Many consider the Frenchman to be the best forward in the history of the competition, but if Salah continues at his current goals per game ratio, he will net at least another 19 times this season, enough to take him to sixth in the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts.
Not only would the Egyptian leapfrog Henry, who is currently the seventh highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League, the winger could soon overtake the Frenchman in terms of assists given Salah has produced 74 assists in 272 games for Liverpool and Chelsea, the same as Henry in just 14 more matches.
Across 259 appearances, Salah has scored 161 goals and registered 73 assists at a rate of 0.98 goal contributions per 90 in the Premier League for Liverpool, and the Egyptian primarily played as a winger, while Henry predominantly operated more centrally.
In terms of direct comparisons to positional peers, David Beckham played 265 times in the Premier League but only scored 62 goals and produced 80 assists, a rate of 0.54 per 90.
Others such as Raheem Sterling have played 383 times in the league, and while he has managed to produce an impressive 123 goals and 63 assists, he still falls short of Salah.
Gareth Bale is another legendary figure of the Premier League era, but even the Welshman only scored 53 times in 166 appearances and assisted on 22 occasions.
It should also be remembered that Salah has routinely performed for Liverpool even in seasons when the team struggled, including in the 2022-23 campaign when the Reds finished fifth but the Egyptian still produced 19 goals and 12 assists.
What if Salah stays at Anfield?
© Imago
There is a possibility that Salah could stay on Merseyside, and if he commits his future to the Reds, there is every chance that he could break a number of records previously thought untouchable.
The Egyptian is already Liverpool’s fifth-highest goalscorer of all time having netted on 219 occasions, and he is only nine goals from matching Billy Liddell‘s tally of 228.
Salah has never scored fewer than 25 goals in a single season for the Reds and has averaged 30 goals per season in all competitions since arriving at Anfield.
If he was to net a further 22 times on top of the eight goals he already has this term, Salah would climb to joint third in Liverpool’s scoring charts alongside Gordon Hodgson, but if he was to maintain his average of 30 goals in 2025-26 he would be just 14 behind second-placed Roger Hunt.
The winger has also averaged 22 goals in each full season in the Premier League during his time at Liverpool, and if he was to keep up this average over the remainder of 2024-25 and 2025-26, he would jump ahead of Henry, Frank Lampard, Sergio Aguero and Andrew Cole to become the fourth-highest scoring player in the division’s history with 201 goals.
Given that Salah is renowned for his dedication to maintaining fitness levels, it would not be surprising if he continued to produce in the final third well into his 30s, and others such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have proven that it is possible to sustain good goalscoring records in the twilight of a career.
A third season of scoring 22 Premier League goals would see the winger become the league’s second highest goalscorer of all time, though he would still be 37 behind first-placed Alan Shearer.
Sports Mole editor Barney Corkhill spoke with Liverpool expert David Lynch to discuss the legacy of Mohamed Salah in light of the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Arsenal, whether the Egyptian ranks as highly as the likes of Thierry Henry and whether he deserves a place in an all-time Premier League XI as a right-winger.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.