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Liverpool's Mohamed Salah had a revealing response when rival Declan Rice mentioned Arsenal's trio of second-place finishes while on stage at the PFA Awards ceremony. Salah scooped up the prestigious Players' Player of the Year award at the Manchester event - marking his third time receiving this accolade.
Rice shared the stage with Salah as part of the team of the year, being one of three representatives from Arsenal, alongside defenders Gabriel and William Saliba. Salah was among four Liverpool stars recognized, or five if you include newcomer Milos Kerkez, who earned his spot based on his performances for Bournemouth last season.
"It's been really tough, coming second three years in a row," Rice admitted. "But I've said it before, in life you've got to go through some small losses in order to win and we're going to keep going, we're going to keep pushing, and hopefully something can come for us."
As Rice referred to the three near-misses, Salah lowered his gaze and seemed to turn slightly to his left. Some Liverpool supporters on social media speculated that his first instinct was to glance towards Reds captain Virgil van Dijk, though others weren't as certain.
"Probably because they can relate, doubt it's malicious," speculated one fan, referencing the times Liverpool finished a close second behind Manchester City in 2019 and 2022.
Another social media user thought Arsenal might be able to use the moment as extra motivation, though, telling manager Mikel Arteta to "Make sure you play this in the dressing room.
"It's something that's never happened in the Premier League, it's something I will never forget and I will never take it for granted. So, I'm so glad about that," Salah said after becoming the first player to win the PFA award three times.
The honor arrived following his campaign as the division's leading goalscorer, and he emphasised his desire to continue achieving at the highest level.
"I'm still very hungry – that's why I signed for Liverpool [for] another two years," he added. "It's great to play in the Premier League at that level.
"Also with my age, 33, you feel that you can give more and you can really make the difference always in each game. It's something [that] makes me proud of myself because I work really hard for that. That's what I can say about that."
Both Liverpool and Arsenal secured victorious openings to the fresh Premier League campaign, though under contrasting circumstances.
Arne Slot's title holders overcame a Bournemouth fightback to triumph 4-2 on home soil, whilst Mikel Arteta's squad displayed defensive resilience in a slender 1-0 victory away at Manchester United.
The two teams are set to clash on August 31, providing an early opportunity to stake a claim in the title race.
Prior to this, Liverpool will face a challenging away match at Newcastle, while Arsenal will aim to prevent newly promoted Leeds from securing a second consecutive win.
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