Arteta is right – Liverpool's attacking depth could be the difference

It was Mikel Arteta who highlighted Liverpool’s depth at the weekend as Darwin Nunez scored twice late on to beat Brentford. “They made the subs and the subs made the impact and they managed to change the game. In our side, it was the opposite.”

Whatever your views on Arsenal, he has a point about Liverpool. Nunez’s impact came in the same week that Diogo Jota had come off the bench to score with his first touch to level it at Nottingham Forest. Arne Slot’s attacking options are making a difference.

Jota’s goal brought one extra point, Nunez’s brought two. But Jota has not started a Premier League game since an injury against Chelsea in October, while Nunez’s game-time has been limited. That is because Liverpool’s starting trio have been very effective too.

Luis Diaz has scored the breakthrough goal in no fewer than five of Liverpool’s Premier League wins. Cody Gakpo has scored the equalising goals at home to Brighton, Fulham and Manchester United. Mohamed Salah’s contribution hardly needs mentioning.

No wonder Italy international Federico Chiesa is having to be patient. Salah is the star but it is a rare luxury to have this many top attackers in their prime. Gakpo and Nunez are 25. Diaz and Jota are 28. Chiesa aside, the other five are well established at the club too.

All have now scored at least 20 Premier League goals for Liverpool since the start of the season before last. For context, Arsenal have four such players – Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz. But no other team boasts more than two.

That is surely going to be so important for Liverpool in the coming months with them competing for four different trophies between now and the end of May. They are the bookmakers’ favourites to win three of them and second favourites to win the FA Cup.

Achieving success in multiple competitions will require multiple options, the ability to select different teams and to change games from the bench. Fortunately for Slot, if he can keep these forwards fit, there is no team better placed to manage that situation.

Traore and Wilson’s wing switch

Sometimes managerial masterstrokes are crafted on the training ground. Others occur in the heat of the moment – and not always for the reasons anticipated. Adama Traore’s goal for Fulham that took the game away from Leicester was an example of the latter.

The substitute’s side-footed volley that sealed the 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium came from the right flank but Marco Silva had not positioned him there for that reason. Traore had come on for the unwell Alex Iwobi at half-time to play on the left instead.

Silva then spent much of the early part of the half trying to get Traore’s positioning right. Asking the Fulham boss about that in the press conference after the game, he explained that he wanted Traore to track the forward runs of right-back James Justin.

“We had some specific situations for that player because we knew Leicester would try to attack with Justin on our right-hand side, which meant that when the ball was on the left we knew that he was going to be all the way up and arriving in the box sometimes.

“We had some specific positions for Alex and after, of course, the player that came in should do the same. Adama in the beginning was a little bit confused and was not able to do what we wanted. It was one of the reasons why we changed him to the right.”

Harry Wilson took on the job. “We pushed Wilson to the left-hand side because [Adama] was not able to do what we planned and of course when a player is not able to do it, you have to give them feedback or change it like we did and put him on the right.”

Traore took the plaudits with his goal, but it was Wilson, from the left, who picked him out, having earlier set up Fulham’s first goal too. In total, Wilson created seven chances, more than the entire Leicester team and more than all his own teammates combined.

It is also the most chances that Wilson has created in a Premier League game in his career. His previous best? That was the four chances that he fashioned just a fortnight earlier against Ipswich. No wonder he was serenaded off the pitch by the supporters.

Since coming off the bench to score in the comeback win over Chelsea on Boxing Day, Wilson has been Fulham’s standout player. “He is performing at a very good level. On the ball and off the ball.” Silva counted on both aspects of his game on Saturday.

Ayari shines for Brighton

Some players burst onto the scene, others take longer to emerge. After loan spells at Coventry and Blackburn last season, Yasin Ayari has been quietly establishing himself in Brighton’s midfield. His performance against Manchester United felt like a statement.

Ayari was outstanding in Brighton’s 3-1 victory at Old Trafford, his partnership with fellow 21-year-old midfielder Carlos Baleba allowing Fabian Hurzeler’s side to wrestle control of the contest in the second half. He is beginning to get the credit he is due.

Brighton supporters sang his name from the away end, appreciating his tidy use of the ball coupled with the obvious endeavour that helped snuff out United’s attacks. What was striking was the maturity of the display, one that belied the Swede’s inexperience.

Putting that to Hurzeler afterwards, he agreed with the sentiment. “I am pleased that you asked this question, because it is exactly the example,” he explained, highlighting the progress that has been made by his midfield duo during the course of the campaign.

“They suffered or had bad experiences, Carlos and Yasin. We had a lot of giveaways during the season where we were leading, and did things that were not mature, that you cannot do if you want to win a Premier League game and they really learned from it.”

Ayari’s improvement has been swift, covering the ground well and always on the half turn to receive the ball. But his attitude stood out for Hurzeler right from the start. “Yasin is a player who always wants to do well. He had an amazing pre-season,” he added.

“He has this attitude that he always gives more than 100 per cent, and with this intrinsic motivation, you can achieve a lot of things.

“And of course he has a great talent, he understands the game quite well, he is good in narrow spaces, he has a good first touch, he is good in scanning, and I think his improvement shows, he is a great example for the Brighton & Hove Albion way.

“That is the way that we want to go, improving the young players with big potential, but in the end it is always the players by themselves, and Yasin is a role model for trying to win every day and trying to improve.” Against United, that improvement was clear.