Rio Ferdinand makes Mohamed Salah prediction – and it’s bad news for Arsenal

Mo Salah’s impressive season for Liverpool continued on Saturday with a goal against Ipswich, moving ahead of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in the all-time Premier League goalscorer charts

Rio Ferdinand has backed Liverpool star Mo Salah to break a long-standing record held by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

Salah, 32, is having a season to remember with the Reds, putting doubts over his future at the club aside to register 19 goals and 13 assists in just 22 Premier League games. The Egyptian king of Anfield added to his tally on Saturday, scoring a goal in Liverpool’s routine 4-1 win at home to Ipswich.

With his rich vein of form showing no sign of stopping, former Manchester United defender Ferdinand believes that Salah stands every chance of finishing the season on at least 20 goals and 20 assists. That’s the record currently held by Henry, who was both goalscorer and provider supreme for Arsenal in the 2002-03 campaign.

“The trajectory that Mo Salah is on right now, he surpasses that [Henry’s record], it seems,” Ferdinand told TNT Sports. “Whether he can do that is a different story. You need a bit of luck in terms of staying fit and maintaining form.

“You need your team to keep providing you chances, and you to keep putting them on a plate for other people, but the form that he’s in, the run that he’s on at the moment, and the fact that they’re top of the league and are full of confidence, you can’t bet against him.”

With 16 games remaining, Salah only needs a minimum of two more goals and eight assists to better Henry’s record. The 32-year-old surpassed Henry in another respect on Saturday, moving ahead of the ex-Arsenal forward and into seventh place in the Premier League’s all-time goalscorer charts.

Salah netted his 176th goal in the top flight to leapfrog Henry (175) and go one behind Chelsea legend Frank Lampard (177). It was the Egypt captain’s 100th league goal scored at Anfield but boss Arne Slot was impressed with another aspect of his game.

Will Mo Salah break Thierry Henry’s record? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

“It’s nice to be asked about it because mostly about Mo, the questions are about his contract or his goals, but now it’s his defensive work rate,” Slot hailed post-match.

“I think that stood out today because we could all see the moment. If you look at almost all the times we have lost the ball, I saw a reaction off many players and that’s what you need against a team with fast wingers, with a good No 9 that goes to a low block.

“It’s so difficult to control a counter-attack and the only way to do it is what Mo did. That’s why I was pleased with the performance today.”

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