Liverpool nerves are not quite jangling again, but any emerging sense of inevitability about the Premier League title has been shaken over the past week. With Arsenal beating Chelsea, and Arne Slot’s side showing signs of weakness, the Reds would dearly love to have things wrapped up before Mikel Arteta’s men come to town.
There’s no need to be overly alarmist, with Slot having earned a very enviable position atop the Premier League table. His Liverpool side has been significantly better than all other challengers for most of the season, and would now require a major collapse not to go on and win it.
But with Mohamed Salah finally looking something less than superhuman over the past handful of games, Ryan Gravenberch emblematic of a flagging engine room, and Trent Alexander-Arnold sidelined, one or two cracks are beginning to show. Liverpool has exited two cups, meaning all focus is now on seeing out the Premier League campaign.
Certainly, the performance against Newcastle at Wembley was not that of a league champion. Rather than picturing a procession to the Premier League title ahead of Arsenal, the more pessimistic Liverpool fans are wondering whether the gap is big enough to allow the team to limp over the line still in first place.
There’s no getting around it for those of an Arsenal persausion: 12 points is a massive gap with just nine games left. But the ray of hope at the Emirates is that the the two sides are still scheduled to meet.
A win at Anfield would surely cement Liverpool as the 2024-2025 champion. But Arsenal will hope to still be in the hunt when that fixture rolls around, with the chance to make things very interesting if it can emerge with a victory.
However, Liverpool vs Arsenal is the third-last game of the Premier League season. So it is possible, and perhaps even likely, that the matter will already have been mathematically settled by then.
(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool can ensure that outcome, but only by winning all six of its next matches. Ignoring any Arsenal results, six wins is the magic number to secure title number 20.
The next game for Liverpool is the Merseyside Derby, which comes after the international break. That’s one of numerous stern tests within the next six matches, including matches against Tottenham and Chelsea.
So unless the Reds can recover their top form, the likelihood is that Arsenal will need to drop more points before coming to Anfield in order to render that contest irrelevant. Fortunately, it does look possible.
Arsenal will likely be boosted by the return of Bukayo Saka, but that does not change the gruelling fixture list that awaits on the other side of the international break. While the Premier League fixture list is reasonably kind, Arteta will need to navigate it while also contesting a Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid.
Operating without a recognized striker, Arsenal will need to find ways to win against Fulham, Everton, Brentford, Ipswich, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth in the league. Any slip-ups will of course decrease the points tally that Liverpool requires.
If it comes down to it, Liverpool will obviously gear itself up for another big game at Anfield — Slot’s side has not become useless overnight, and would have every chance of emerging with a positive result against Arsenal. But taking care of business early would save an awful lot of stress, and restore the positivity that has gone missing over the last week or so.
