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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson believes Philippe Coutinho is ready to make the leap into the elite of world football.

The gifted Brazilian inspired the Reds to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Arsenal as he netted twice at the Emirates on the opening weekend.

Coutinho has been Liverpool’s outstanding performer for the past two seasons but Henderson insists the stage is now set for him to secure much wider acclaim.

And the skipper says it won’t be long before Coutinho is mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

“Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez - they are seen as the elite players in world football,” Henderson told the ECHO.

“Philippe has certainly got the talent, the work ethic and the hunger to get into that bracket.

“He’s a fantastic player for us. I’ve seen him develop as a player during his time at Liverpool and he’s still only 24.

“If he continues to work as hard as he does and continues to develop like he has done then I’m sure he will be in that bracket before long. He’s still very young.

“Hopefully it won’t be long before people do regard him alongside the Messis of this world. We have to try to keep him fit and keep him playing like that because he was brilliant against Arsenal.”

There been a buzz around Melwood this week following the Reds’ dramatic triumph in the capital. Spirits have also been buoyed by the sight of Daniel Sturridge and James Milner back in full training after sitting out the game against Arsenal, but the shoulder injury to Sadio Mane could be a concern.

Henderson insists there’s no danger of anyone getting carried away ahead of Saturday’s trip to Burnley after Jurgen Klopp’s side produced such a mixed performance at the Emirates.

“It was a good win for us and of course we would have taken that before the game,” he said.

“We’ve got to be pleased with the three points but we know there are things we need to improve on before the weekend.

“In the first half we didn’t play as well as we would have liked. We just didn’t get going until after they scored.

“The last 10 to 15 minutes of the first half were better from us as we kept the ball better and then Philippe came up with the goods to get us level with that free-kick.

“It was a big goal - an unbelievable strike. From there we grew into the game and looked a lot more confident.

“The manager spoke at half-time about the things we needed to do better and I felt like we did that in the second half.”

Liverpool blew Arsenal away with three goals in the opening 18 minutes of the second half with Coutinho, Adam Lallana and debutant Mane doing the damage.

Henderson is excited about the array of attacking weapons Klopp can call upon this season.

“We have got a lot of talented players going forward,” he said.

“We looked very dangerous at times. There’s a lot of pace and creativity in the final third.

“We scored some great goals but we also need to be solid defensively and provide better protection.

“When Arsenal scored their second they gained momentum and we sat back a bit too much, inviting pressure, so that’s something we need to work on.

“In the end we saw the game out and got the three points which was very pleasing but we all know we can do better.

“Burnley will be a different test and a tough test. We need to keep working and keep building as a team.”