‘Elite’: Ian Wright wowed by ‘very clever’ Liverpool player after win v Arsenal

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Ian Wright hailed Roberto Firmino as a ‘very clever’ player during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday night, as he told Premier League Productions (16/03/22 at 10:30 pm).

The Highbury legend added that Firmino’s movement for his near-post goal was ‘elite’ movement from the Liverpool forward.

After a difficult opening 45 minutes for the away side, the Premier League title-chasers put their foot on the accelerator in the second half.

There was an eight-minute period after the break, including the substitution of Firmino, that saw Diogo Jota open the scoring and then his Brazilian teammate double his side’s lead.

The Reds were 1-0 up when Firmino and Mo Salah came off the bench, which just shows the ridiculous amount of firepower Jurgen Klopp can pick from.

Nonetheless, Wright was left wowed by Firmino’s contribution yesterday and this is what he had to say about the player.

“He is just one of those players that when he gets on the ball, he is a very clever player,” said Wright.

“This goal is all about him and his unbelievable movement. This is where I feel Liverpool were really good (inside the box).

“When you see this, you think to yourself ‘how does he get so much time to get in front there?’ It’s because of the elite movement. Gabriel will feel like he has got him, then he has got in front. That’s the margins at this level.

“I was talking about Lacazette in the first half, his movement was poor. That’s what top players do. They know what they need to do to get that half a yard to finish.”

If the Reds don’t mess it up at the back, and there’s no reason why they should with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker at the top of their game, then they should score in every game remaining this season.

Salah went into last night’s match on the back of an injury and Klopp was able to leave him on the bench, before bringing him on in the second half.

Then there was Firmino who, during his injury spell and Luis Diaz’s arrival, has become a bit of a forgotten man.

Liverpool probably have the best set of goalscorers in the Premier League and it makes them very, very dangerous heading into the final few months of the season.