Speaking on Premier League Productions’ The Final Word, Michael Owen has been discussing Fabinho and his role in this Liverpool team.
The Brazilian was left out of the starting XI against Arsenal this weekend, but Owen believes that he is the only midfielder in the Liverpool squad who ticks every single box.
Indeed, according to Owen, Fabinho is Liverpool’s only midfielder who is of the right age, quality, and level of fitness.
Fabinho is perfect
Owen lauded the Brazilian.
“He is the one shining example of a player who has got everything. He’s the right age, he’s the right quality, he’s always fit and healthy. You look down the list of other players, Naby Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain, injury prone maybe, Milner and Henderson are getting on and then you have Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott who are younger players. He is the right one,” Owen said.
“He has to get back to form otherwise that becomes a very weak area of the team.”
Worrying
While it’s brilliant to hear Fabinho earning this sort of praise, it is worrying that Owen so easily poked holes in all of Liverpool’s other midfield options.
The concerning thing is that you can’t even argue against what Owen is saying. The pundit is absolutely right, Henderson and Milner are getting older, Elliott and Jones are too inexperienced and Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are too injury prone.
Luckily, in a year or two’s time, the likes of Elliott, Jones and Fabio Carvalho will be ready to step up, so these concerns should subside at least a little bit, but at the moment, it’s not hard to see why Liverpool’s midfield is seen as one of the weaker spots in the team.
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