Arne Slot makes Liverpool title Premier League admission ahead of Arsenal clash

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It's a meeting between the reigning champions and current leaders on Thursday at the Emirates. However, only one side is expected to go on an win the Premier League this season

Arne Slot admits Liverpool's title hopes are all but over(Image: Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)

Arne Slot has all but admitted Liverpool has no chance of reclaiming its Premier League crown this season as the champions prepare to take on Arsenal.

Liverpool currently trails the Gunners by 14 points, a margin no side in Premier League history has managed to previously overturn. The biggest gap that a side has ever managed to claw back is 13, which Arsenal managed against Manchester United in 1997/98, although the Red Devils had played an extra match.

In many ways, the trip to the Emirates on Thursday could symbolize how both Liverpool’s standards have dropped and the changing of the guard in the division. That will almost certainly be the narrative should Arsenal earn a handsome victory over the champions.

Liverpool is, of course, hoping to avoid that scenario, even if Slot knows that the Reds’ title defense is all but over at the halfway point of the campaign.

“It's never nice to say that a title race is gone because you never know what can happen in football, but there are a lot of clubs in between us and the number one,” the Liverpool head coach told Sky Sports.

“Two other clubs, [Aston] Villa and also [Manchester] City. I think at this moment in time we're 14 points behind Arsenal.

Liverpool could trail Arsenal by 17 points on Friday morning(Image: Getty Images)

“So the last thing we should talk about at this moment in time is the title race.

“Our first focus now is on a top-four, top-five finish to qualify for the Champions League, and all of the other things we can still play for: the Champions League, the FA Cup.

“If something happens that no one would expect and probably never has happened before, then we try to make sure, or we make sure that we are ready for that.

“But I don’t go to Arsenal thinking about a title race. We go there thinking about winning a game of football against a very strong team.”

Arsenal is heavy favorites to claim the Premier League, especially with Manchester City dropping points in the last three matches(Image: Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool could be without Hugo Ekitike for the Premier League encounter at the Emirates, meaning the Reds may be forced to deploy Cody Gakpo as a makeshift no.9 for the second game in a row.

Should it avoid defeat, Liverpool will also extend its unbeaten run to 10 games; that’s despite many of the recent performances being underwhelming.

Indeed, Slot had to field questions ahead of the game regarding whether Liverpool’s playing style has become “boring”, and defended his possession-heavy approach, which has seen an upturn in results over recent weeks.