Sam Allardyce shared he preferred Liverpool’s front three rather than Arsenal’s ahead of the two sides clashing on Saturday.
Alan Brazil asked the former England manager which team’s front three he preferred when you consider Liverpool have Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino while Arsenal have Pierre-Emerick Aubaymeyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe to call upon.
Allardyce replied by saying “Ooft” showing how he was impressed by both team’s attacking trios, before saying he prefers the Reds’ front-three just because of what they had achieved in recent seasons.
“Ooft, I just have to tip it to Liverpool on the basis of what they’ve achieved in the last couple of seasons,” said Allardyce on talkSPORT (9:56am, Tuesday, August 20th).
“I think y’know the struggled a little against Southampton, as they felt the effects of the midweek game in Turkey, but they scrapped through and won 2-1.”
OPINION
Allardyce clearly is open to rating Arsenal’s front three better than Liverpool’s in the future but wants to see how they do this season first. After all, Pepe only joined Arsenal in the summer from Lille and has only featured for 63 minutes in the Premier League so far (Source: Transfermarkt). The 24-year-old winger may have wowed at Lille last season, he scored 23 goals in 41 outings, but only time will tell if he can light up the Premier League and form a close bond with his new teammates. If he can, then perhaps Salah, Mane and Fimirno should be worried they’re no longer the best front three in the Premier League. After all, Aubameyang scored 31 goals in 51 outings last season and has already got two goals in his first two outings in his current campaign, and Lacazette managed 19 goals last season and has also got off the mark this season by scoring against Burnley on Saturday. However, while Arsenal’s front three on paper could be a force, they need to prove they can link up as well as Salah. Salah, Firmino and Mane have all been among the goals since linking up at Anfield, and one of the things that makes themselves so formidable is their ability to work off each other and switch positions smoothly.
