Arne Slot makes Arsenal jibe as he plays down Liverpool's title chances following latest Premier League twists

Arsenal are nine points behind Liverpool after 12 games with City eight points adrift. In the 2022-23 campaign, Arsenal held an eight-point lead over City in April but Pep Guardiola’s side overturned that deficit to claim a third-straight Premier League crown. It was a fact Slot was keen to emphasise with 26 games of the season to play.

The Liverpool boss said: “We know what we have to put into it to get this league and these wins. There were one or two games that were won by a big margin but the rest were all by small margins. We know how difficult it is to win a game and these players have been in the Premier League longer than I have been.

“I think last year [2022-23], even later on in the season, Arsenal led by eight points and City came back. You know if you face Arsenal, City, Chelsea, Tottenham were great [in defeating City 4-0] as well, they are all able to win so many games in a row. It is nice to have this position but we are definitely not getting carried away.”

On the result, the Liverpool boss added: “We’re really happy, especially because after an hour we were 2-1 down and maybe that wasn’t a reflection of how the first hour went. I think we dominated the whole game, which is not that easy. I’ve seen many Southampton games where they have dominated the game. But if you’re 2-1 down after an hour you’re maybe over the moon if you win 3-2. We know what we have to put into it to get the (eight-point) lead we have at the moment and to get these wins. There have been one or two games that were wins by a big margin but the rest were small margins, so we know how difficult it is to win a game.”