Liverpool are being given a taste of life without Mohamed Salah.
Unsurprisingly, they don't like it.
With the Africa Cup of Nations currently taking place in Cameroon, the Reds are having to press ahead with their Premier League title challenge, along with domestic cup exploits, without him, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita.
Jurgen Klopp’s side might have been scoring goals for fun so far this season, while it might ‘only’ be Brentford and Crystal Palace who stand in their path in the Premier League during the continental tournament, but lining up without the division’s top goalscorer is still a big blow.
And that was certainly the case in their first real test without the Egyptian as they were held to a 0-0 draw Arsenal in the first league of their League Cup semi-final.
PLAYER RATINGS: Trent Alexander-Arnold and four others struggle against Arsenal
MATCH VERDICT: What Arsenal fans sang as Liverpool's long-term planning exposed
READ MORE: Liverpool already know where fingers will be pointed after dreadful performance against Arsenal
With the second leg at the Emirates, and potentially, an FA Cup fourth round clash with Cardiff City, taking place in his absence, Salah’s hopes of domestic silverware this year will rest in the hands of his team-mates.
Yet Klopp fielded his strongest available XI against the Gunners, who had to play for 10 men for nearly 70 minutes, but failed to register a shot on target until stoppage-time on what was a highly-frustrating night.
If they didn't know what they were missing without Salah, they certainly do now.
The forward had undoubtedly been the standout player in world football so far this campaign, and looks an early favourite for next season’s Ballon d’Or with the Africa Cup of Nations giving him an early platform to stake his claim, after only a lack of silverware really held him back as he was ranked a disappointing seventh for this year’s award.
And it is that newfound status, usurping the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, that has seemingly rightly created such anxiety about his January departure to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Liverpool fans will struggle to remember a time without Salah, with him only missing seven Premier League matches in his four and a half seasons with the club, and only coming on as a substitute in seven of his 163 Premier League appearances for the Reds.
It’s a similar story in the Champions League too, with him missing just one of the 52 continental games Liverpool have played in his time at the club - the Reds’ famous 4-0 victory over Barcelona in May 2019.
But beyond that, it will be an unwanted look into a nightmarish future and what a Liverpool side will look like without Mohamed Salah.
If there is a nervousness regarding how Klopp’s side will briefly get on without him in January, imagine the fears if he fails to pen new terms with the club.
The 29-year-old’s contract expires in 18 months’ time and he has made it clear he would like to stay put at Anfield, while hinting he wants a deal that reflects his elevated status in the game.
He reiterated such a fact in an interview that was published on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I want to stay, but it's not in my hands. It's in their hands,” the forward told GQ magazine. “They know what I want. I'm not asking for crazy stuff.
“The thing is, when you ask for something and they show you they can give you something, they should. Because they appreciate what you did for the club. I’ve been here for my fifth year now.
"I know the club very well. I love the fans. The fans love me. But with the administration, they have [been] told the situation. It’s in their hands.”
Leave your own Liverpool player ratings below
If Thursday's stalemate with Arsenal is anything to go by, FSG should take another look at the forward's demands.
Klopp wants him to stay too, but he felt the same regarding Gini Wijnaldum and that didn’t stop the Reds' American owners from failing to come to an agreement with the Dutchman and allowing him to depart on a free transfer last summer.
Reds fans would obviously loathe a repeat situation with Salah, but the longer there is no breakthrough in negotiations, the more nervous they will feel about the potential that January’s brief taste of life without the Egyptian will soon become their permanent reality.
After all, if Liverpool aren’t willing to pay him a wage befitting of the standards he is currently setting, he won’t be shy of suitors who will.
Yet such a pay-packet could quite easily obliterate FSG’s wage structure at Anfield and create an even bigger headache for the Reds’ American owners down the line.
If we come to the end of the campaign and his contract situation still hasn’t been resolved, Liverpool are left with the dilemma of selling up in the summer or accepting that he could well leave for free, with the Egyptian free to discuss a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs from January 2023.
But could January 2022 actually be a defining month for Salah’s Anfield future?
As the Reds navigate the month without the forward, it is also highly likely they won’t dip their toes into the transfer market, maintaining their recent trend of minimal business.
Such a stance could prove unpopular on the terraces if Liverpool drop points, both with and without the Egyptian, and start to fall further behind Man City in the title-race.
Yet questions for FSG on that subject are not new.
And while fresh faces have been few and far between, other deals have been done under similar circumstances in recent times.
In the summer, after only signing Ibrahima Konate, the Reds confirmed that Jordan Henderson had signed a new long-term contract with the club on transfer deadline day to soften the blow of no further arrivals.
The previous January, they waited until Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies had signed as emergency centre-back cover before confirming that Joel Matip would be out for the season, while in December 2019, in the build-up to Christmas, there was a double new contract announcement for Jurgen Klopp and James Milner.
Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk was a late Christmas present 12 months earlier, confirmed before the transfer window opened to both soften the blow of Philippe Coutinho’s imminent departure and silence supporter displeasure after half a season where they had been left unimpressed by the club’s failure to sign a new centre-back in the summer.
Could similar tactics come into play with the blow of losing Salah, Mane and Keita to the Africa Cup of Nations and, in all likelihood, a quiet transfer window, ahead?
Given the forward's latest comments, going hand in hand with Liverpool's struggles against Arsenal and their lack of transfer activity, frustrations in their fanbase will continue to grow as a result.
There is plenty for them to be anxious about after all, as their side falls further behind Man City.
The Reds possess an ageing squad with seemingly limited funds to strengthen, and a number of players including Salah and Mane out of contract in 2023, before Klopp's own deal expires in 2024.
Having waited 30 years to be crowned champions of England, they don't want to sleepwalk into another lengthy drought.
As such, now would be the perfect time to end the uncertainty regarding Salah’s future once and for all.
It won't silence all the scrutiny against the Reds' American owners, but it would be a statement at least, offering some reassurance about their efforts to remain an elite side in the future.
Now it’s up to FSG to deliver.
