Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has revealed the career-defining advice given to him by Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger.
Salah is having a season to remember for the Reds as he's helped propel Arne Slot's side to the brink of the Premier League title. Salah was on song again with a goal and an assist as Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad on Sunday.
The victory, as well as Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham United a day earlier, means Liverpool are now 11 points clear of the north London side at the top of the table with 11 games left to play. However, in a surprising twist of fate, Liverpool's iconic talisman has opened up on how it was ex-Gunners boss Wenger that helped take his game to the next level.
In an interview with TNT Sports, pundit and former Liverpool star Steve McManaman asked Salah if good and great players were separated by their ability to score decisive goals. "I think so," Salah replied.
"I think I got that advice from Arsene Wenger in the past. I asked him the same question actually because he had great players in his career.
"He told me: 'The great players, it does not matter how he performs in the game. He always stays focused and waits for the moment. He's always in the game'. And I put that into consideration a few years ago.
"Players' emotions go up and down, [but] I don't want my emotions to be like this. I just try to be stable and understand that not every game you're going to have your best game. If you stay focussed, maybe you will have one chance."
Salah also opened up on sparring with defenders in the Premier League but revealed his energy is primed on staying focused for that one golden opportunity. "If some of them [opposing defenders] try to trash talk, I don't like to engage. I tell them: 'I don't need much, I just need one chance, just one chance, and you will pay for it'."
The man lovingly known as the 'Egyptian King' on Merseyside has scored 30 goals and registered 21 assists across all competitions so far this season. Yet while he is currently 15 goals shy of his best tally in red, which came in his debut season, the 32-year-old believes he is enjoying his best campaign since arriving at Anfield.
"I think it is my best season," he said. "I think this is my best season because I make the players around me better as well, that is what I feel."
Salah's performances have now fired him into the reckoning for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Wenger has insisted that the winger should be in contention.
Speaking at half time of Liverpool's clash with City on Sunday, the Frenchman told beIN Sports: "This guy is exceptional and, what I love the most in his career, he became better and better every year, more clinical. He does less quantity today but he doesn't lose in quality and that shows that he's not only a great talent but very intelligent."
However, the former Roma star has tunnel vision for the prizes on offer to the Reds this season, adding: "Let's win the Premier League and the Champions League, and we will see. The Ballon d'Or, everybody knows sometimes there is [other] stuff involved there."
Whether Liverpool's No. 11 will still be at Anfield by the end of the year, though, remains to be seen, given his contract is still set to expire come the end of June. No agreement over an extension has been reached as yet. Salah, though, will be in action once again on Wednesday night when the Reds host Newcastle United in the Premier League (8.15pm).