Liverpool star Mohamed Salah had a revealing reaction when rival Declan Rice mentioned Arsenal's three consecutive runner-up finishes at the PFA Awards ceremony. Salah bagged the prestigious Players' Player of the Year award at the Manchester event - marking his third time receiving this honour.

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 recognised, 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 trio of runner-up finishes, Salah lowered his head and seemed to turn slightly to his left. Some Liverpool supporters on social media speculated that his instinct was to immediately look towards Reds captain Virgil van Dijk, though others were less certain.

"Probably because they can relate, doubt it's malicious," one fan wrote, referencing the times Liverpool narrowly finished second behind Manchester City in 2019 and 2022. Another social media user explained that Arsenal may be able to use it as extra motivation, though, urging 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 recognition followed his campaign as the division's leading goalscorer, and he made it clear his ambitions remain sky-high.

"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 victories to launch their new Premier League campaigns, though under contrasting scenarios. Arne Slot's title holders battled back from a Bournemouth fightback to triumph 4-2 on home soil, whilst Mikel Arteta's squad displayed resolute defending in a slender 1-0 victory away at Manchester United.

The two football giants are set to clash on August 31, providing an early opportunity to stake their claim in the title race. Prior to this, Liverpool face a challenging away match at Newcastle, while Arsenal aim to prevent newly promoted Leeds from securing a second consecutive win.