Mo Salah response means little to Mikel Arteta as Arsenal ponder Liverpool statement

Last season, Arsenal's title hopes were scuppered by Liverpool's brilliance - this term, things look very different at Anfield, while the Gunners continue to lead the Premier League

They are 10 points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

They have endured a pretty miserable start to the season, slumping in recent months.

And now their star player, who has badly underperformed this season having shot them to the title last term, has gone out on his own to point fingers, says he has been “thrown under a bus” by the club’s hierarchy and claims he may have played his final game for the club: "I'm just going to be at Anfield and say goodbye to the fans before the African Cup of Nations, because I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there."

So will we see Mohamed Salah in a Liverpool shirt again? And thinking more particularly, will we see him in a Liverpool shirt on January 8?

After his weekend outburst, he was dropped by Arne Slot for their Champions League encounter with Inter Milan in Italy tonight. Instead, he reported for Liverpool training on Tuesday morning with his future at Anfield in question. Salah reported at the club’s Kirkby base - less than 24 hours after Slot said he had “no clue” whether Salah would play for the club again after his tirade at Leeds.

Having gone public with his displeasure - a move that has split the Liverpool fan base - Salah posted on social media on Tuesday morning himself working in the Liverpool gym. There was no caption. But as Jamie Carragher said on Monday Night Football, he knows what he's doing.

Asked whether Salah had indeed played his last game for Liverpool, Slot replied on Monday night: “I have no clue. I cannot answer that question at this point in time. I am a firm believer that there is always a possibility to return for a player. I can leave it with that I think.”

But Salah is only due to play once more for the Reds before heading off on international duty for AFCON on December 15.

That means he won’t face Spurs on December 20. But could he make a miraculous return for Liverpool’s huge trip to the Emirates in the New Year?

It would need quite the about turn at Anfield from Salah and would also need Egypt to have had a terrible AFCON - likely needing them to be KO’d at the group stage; their group games take place on December 22 (Zimbabwe), December 26 (South Africa) and December 29 (Angola). If Egypt reached the second round and were knocked out, he could feasibly still make it back for the date with Mikel Arteta’s men too.

Yet, whereas before Arsenal may have worried about a Salah return previously, there won’t be the fear factor that perhaps has been there in recent seasons. Certainly, if he is back available on January 8 and Liverpool can call on his services, then his presence will be respected.

However such has been his drop off at Anfield this season, and the drop off of the champions as a whole, when the two sides meet a month from now in North London, there’s little to suggest Arsenal will be anything but heavy favourites.

Mikel Arteta may have some sympathy with Slot over the Salah episode he's dealing with at present.

Remember, early in the Spaniard's tenure he had his own goalscoring star to with whom he had issues, in the shape of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Aubameyang, idolised by the supporters, fired Arteta's early Arsenal to the FA Cup, had a big new contract, and then the goals dried up and the relationship broke down.

But in early January, whether Salah is there or not, whether this current episode is still ongoing or not, solace from the Gunners will be in short supply.

Against the currently struggling champions they'll want to make a statement. Only when we get there will we know whether Liverpool are still in a mess, and whether their Egyptian King has abdicated his throne for good.

But things don't change for Arsenal. When Slot's side arrive in N7, it's a matter of winning, and nothing else.