When it comes to Liverpool, and let’s be honest the Premier League, over the last few years one man has set the benchmark – Mohamed Salah.

No one has made as much of an impact as the Egyptian has on English football over the last few years. Salah has simply been sensational, and has well and truly cemented his place as one of the best players to have played in the league of all time.

This season has been no exception for Salah. Once again, he is out breaking records, including reaching his 150th Premier League goal, and dominating the league with some sensational performances.

That is why Liverpool were so gutted to see him depart on international duty with Egypt this month. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Because it seems like the Reds may actually have a player who has been even more prolific than Salah this season.

Diogo Jota – more prolific than Mohamed Salah

Diogo Jota has returned in brilliant form since recovering from his injury. He hasn’t even started a game yet, but he already has three goal contributions in three cameos.

We have already written about how he is averaging more non-penalty goal contributions than Haaland this season. But now football data editor, Michael Reid, who works for Opta, has revealed Jota averages the best goal per minute ratio out of any Premier League player this season. Meaning he is currently the best and most prolific striker in England playing at an elite level.

Jota averages a goal or assist every 90 minutes for Liverpool in all competitions – better than Haaland and Mohamed Salah as well.

Recently, former Liverpool midfielder, Danny Murphy has described him as ‘frightening’ and based on those numbers it’s easy to see why – Jota has been incredible of late for Liverpool. And he will now be vital to minimise Salah’s absence for the rest of the month at Anfield.

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It was all smiles for Liverpool against Arsenal last night. Even if in the beginning it didn’t seem like it was going to be. With so many injured and unavailable players, going to face Arsenal at the Emirates seemed like a daunting task.

And in the first half, at times it was a difficult watch. But Liverpool played their cards right, bided their time and in the end capitalised on Arsenal when the Gunners were the most vulnerable.

There were plenty of positives for Jurgen Klopp to take from the game. The Liverpool boss can be especially pleased with the way some of his more fringe players stepped up. Including one who Alexis Mac Allister has also singled out for praise.

Alexis Mac Allister praise for Jarell Quansah

Alexis Mac Allister was making only his first start for Liverpool since returning from injury, but he, too, produced a solid performance. And speaking to The Athletic after the game, he was quick to praise the performance of Jarell Quansah.

“Quansah had an amazing game,” Mac Allister told The Athletic.

“We know how important players like Virgil, Endo and Mo are for us, but we always say that the other players have to step up and do their job. It’s something we have to keep proving every single game because we are definitely going to miss them.

“Maybe in the first half they were better than us and had more opportunities, but second half we defended very well and we showed our mentality.”

It is no surprise to see Mac Allister praising Quansah. Once again, the Liverpool centre-back stepped up for the Reds in a time of need with a brilliant performance. It’s also the second time in two weeks now that a Liverpool first team player has signalled him out for praise.

Jurgen Klopp couldn’t have asked for more from him. And it’s now clear, the Reds have an absolutely gem in Quansah – who is just 20-years-old and has a very bright future ahead of him at Anfield.

A win at the Emirates to knock-out a key rival in the FA Cup – Liverpool fans could not have asked for a better Sunday night. It was the perfect trip to the capital for the Reds and another result that should inspire the team to kick on even further.

What was really impressive about Liverpool last night is that there were hardly any flaws to be found within Jurgen Klopp’s team. Everyone played their hearts out, and there were a number of really impressive individual performances.

Especially by players who really needed to step-up and make their mark – after perhaps not performing to expectations of late.

Among them was Luis Diaz – who has struggled for most of December with sub-par performances, but against Arsenal he was once again back to his best.

Luis Diaz – no one did better

Against Arsenal, Luis Diaz didn’t just score a brilliant goal in the dying embers of the game, but he also completed the most dribbles.

Diaz completed three out of three of his attempts as per Fotmob, which was the most completed dribbles on the pitch last night. Simply put, Arsenal’s defenders just couldn’t stop him. He was a real nuisance throughout the match and also won the most duels (7) for Liverpool.

The fact that this was the second time in a row he completed the most dribbles in the match (he completed five against Newcastle out of eight attempts) is also really encouraging. Dribbling was one of his best assets – and it seemed to have vanished from his game at times this season. But now, it has reemerged better than ever – proving the old adage that ‘form is temporary, class is permanent.’

There is no denying 2023 was not the greatest year for Diaz, but based on the start he has made so far in 2024 – this year could turn out to be the 26-year-old’s year again.

Even though it was the perfect result for Liverpool against Arsenal last night, there were a few nerve-racking moments.

Particularly, in the first half, when Arsenal dominated possession and looked threatening to score – but just couldn’t put the ball into the back of the net.

But it wasn’t just those moments that seemed to worry Jurgen Klopp on the night. With an already injury stricken squad, the Liverpool boss admitted there were moments he was fearful of his players on the pitch.

Especially, about Ibrahima Konate – who produced an incredible performance on the night.

Jurgen Klopp’s comments about Ibrahima Konate

The 24-year-old centre-back put in one of his best performances recently. He thwarted everything that came in his way at the Emirates and barely put a foot wrong. It was the kind of performance worthy of a leader at the heart of defence, and Klopp was full of praise for him in his post-match press conference.

The Liverpool boss also revealed he was very concerned about Konate when he went down and looked like he might have picked up an injury.

“Top, top.” Klopp praised the performance of his defenders as per the club’s official website. And then he went onto describe a ‘horrible moment.’

“Oh my God, the horrible moment was [when] Ibou was twice down and then Jarell goes down and jarred his back, twisted a little bit. Actually, I thought that’s it and then it would have been really tricky early in the game.”

Thankfully, both Konate and Jarell Quansah escaped injury – and the Liverpool boss has nothing to worry about.