Goals Scored This Season:
Roberto Firmino: 17
Romelu Lukaku: 15
Ălvaro Morata: 12
Gabriel Jesus: 10
Alexandre Lacazette: 8
Many say Liverpool need an out-and-out striker
I think focusing on how many goals he's scored, when we all speak of all the rest he offers to the team, is counter intuitive actually. He has fewer goals than Raheem Sterling this season and no one in their right minds would say Raheem is a top striker.
He only has more goals than the likes of Lukaku because he played in the easiest group of the Champions League. Plus two legs of a qualifier.
In the league, he's behind Lukaku, level with Morata, just one above Lacazette, and has a lower scoring rate than Jesus (who's been injured for a while). He's also level with Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy.
He's been scoring more often, and long may it continue, but I think the main point to be made is that he's a great player even though he's no goalscoring machine such as Harry Kane. He may get to that level one day, and then he'd be among the very top players in the world, but even if he doesn't, he's already an incredible player for us.
He is important to us on so many different ways.
One obvious one is aggression. And I mean that not just in terms of pressing (which he obviously very good at, and seems to instinctively know when it is best to close players down or not), but just overall aggression and physicality in his game.
We miss him dearly whenever we have anyone else other than himself upfront. Sturridge was once a top player but we cannot rely on him, and even at his best, he never challenged for the ball in the air, or fought for every loose ball, the same way that Bobby does. Solanke and Origi, despite their height, simply don't know how to use their bodies to their advantage and harass defenders, make them second guess themselves, feel uncomfortable when defending. Firmino does all of those things, and I know for sure that defenders must hate his guts; he can be a nightmare to play against.
This physical aspect of his game is sometimes underrated, but becomes evident whenever you watch him live, and seriously obvious when you are at the stadium with someone like Origi upfront instead. We struggle to control the game more effectively without it, and also do not create as many opportunities for fast transitions.