Arne Slot was right about Mo Salah – now it’s been proven

Robin Bairner

• 4 Mar 2026 08:01 CST
• 5 min read

News

Mohamed Salah ended a 10-game Premier League goal drought as he found the net for Liverpool against Wolves, yet it’s hard to feel that Arne Slot’s first instinct about the Egypt international was wrong.

The Liverpool manager took the controversial decision to axe Salah from the starting XI in the autumn following a poor run of form, sparking a public spat between the Reds icon and the club.

It was an argument that, ultimately, the 33-year-old won. Tension was defused between the 33-year-old and the club thanks to the Africa Cup of Nations over the festive period, and by the time the Egypt international returned, he was restored to the starting XI.

The decision was made easier for Slot thanks to four successive draws – including 0-0s against Leeds and Arsenal – and while there is certainly logic behind the call, there is little doubt that the era of Salah at Anfield is drawing to a close.

Salah’s Premier League slump

FootballTransfers exclusively revealed last summer that Salah’s plan is to leave Liverpool in 2026. The long-rumoured switch to the Saudi Pro League is his probable, yet not certain, destination.

But few would have expected his exit to have been this inglorious. His strike against Wolves on Tuesday was just his fifth of the season in the Premier League, while he has chimed in with six more assists.

Of course, these are not bad numbers; they are just not Salah numbers.

Before finding the net against Wolves, he hadn’t managed a shot on target in five successive Premier League games, totalling 429 minutes pitch time, while an earlier effort in the match he ballooned hopelessly over the bar from the edge of the box.

"Yeah, he scored the goal, but the goalie should have saved it. And he really didn't contribute anything else all evening. Again," former Liverpool player Steve Nicol told ESPN FC.

He currently ranks behind the likes of Eli Kroupi, Benjamin Sesko, Harry Wilson and even Mikel Merino when it comes to goal contributions per 90 minutes in the Premier League.

He used to be better than that. The evidence is that this is no longer the case.

An alarming decline

Salah’s decline has been precipitous. Among the world’s elite players over the course of the last six months, it’s not quite unique or even the worst, but it is alarming.

Data analytics firm SciSports give each player a SciSkill rating based on hundreds of in-game data points.

Salah’s score has dropped 8.4 to 113.5 over the course of the last six months. Among players in the ‘Big 5’ leagues who are in an elite bracket of having a SciSkill of 100 or more, this ranks second behind only Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret, whose figure has dropped 10.2.

Liverpool toiling

Salah is certainly not unique among his Liverpool team-mates when it comes to a downturn in their fortunes.

Reds players dominate the top 10, with Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and, more surprisingly, Dominik Szoboszlai all present here.

Florian Wirtz, meanwhile, is ranked 13th and Alexander Isak is 15th, showing that the form issues are not simply down to the highs hit last season. They are a club-wide issue.

It’s worth pointing out here that SciSports is not claiming these players have suddenly turned bad – Szoboszlai’s presence in this list is a big surprise due to his recent performances, after all – it’s just indicating that they are not as strong as they were previously. The Hungary international still has a rating of 118.9, positioning him as the sixth-best attacking midfielder in the world, just behind Florian Wirtz.

Time for Liverpool and Salah to part

Liverpool can afford to be patient with their other misfiring stars, but that’s not the case with Salah.

After all, he’s made himself a problem with his demands to start at all costs, even when not at his best.

His rate of decline, meanwhile, is particularly steep. Continue at this rate for another six months, and Liverpool will begin next season with a right winger the standard of Harry Wilson or Noni Madueke.

At 33 years old, he’s also less likely to bounce back.

Salah’s presence in Slot’s thoughts until the end of the season is inevitable, but the growing body of evidence is that the Dutchman’s instinct that the veteran is no longer indispensable for the future is the correct one.

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