Only two Liverpool players good enough to get into Arsenal team, Ray Parlour
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes that only two Liverpool players are good enough to make the current Arsenal squad ahead of Sunday’s match at Anfield.
Arsenal are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, while Jurgen Klopp’s former title rivals languish in eighth place and appear destined to miss out on one of the top four Champions League qualification spots.
Parlour was asked to select his combined XI based on current form and fitness, with nine players from his former club dominating his selection. From Liverpool, only Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were selected.
“Looking at current form, it has to be all Arsenal, except for Virgil van Dijk,” Parlour said. “I know he isn’t playing great, but you would get him in alongside Gabriel, no disrespect to Rob Holding, and with William Saliba currently out injured.”
The Gunners legend told NetBet: “You would also still have to find a spot for Mohamed Salah, but you can’t leave Bukayo Saka out and Gabriel Martinelli is playing well so it is an awkward one. But with Gabriel Jesus having recently come back from injury, I would put Salah up front over the Brazilian. You’ve got to get Salah in there somehow – he could play as a false number nine up front with Saka and Martinelli on the wing – as Jesus has only just come back.
“Liverpool don’t get many spaces. You’ve got Aaron Ramsdale in goal, I am happy with Ben White at right-back, he’s a good defender and has done so well this season, and at left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has been brilliant. I love Andy Robertson, he’s a good player, but Zinchenko has been one of Arsenal’s best players in recent weeks. I’d certainly rather have White and Zinchenko over Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
“And in midfield, Thomas Partey has been excellent, and you can’t leave Martin Odegaard out the way he’s been playing. Nobody from Liverpool’s midfield gets in. Partey, Granit Xhaka and Odegaard, as a three, they work so well together, and I can’t see how the likes of Jordan Henderson or Fabinho get in the way they are playing.”
Only two Liverpool players good enough to get into Arsenal team, Ray Parlour
