Mikel Arteta makes Arne Slot point and shares Liverpool title theory - 'A lot of stories'

Mikel Arteta showed empathy towards Liverpool and Arne Slot ahead of their Premier League meeting as Arsenal holds a 14-point advantage over the defending champion

Mikel Arteta has expressed sympathy for Liverpool ahead of the Reds' meeting with Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta has expressed understanding towards Liverpool's struggles this season despite its hefty expenditure, asserting that nearly everything must align "perfectly" to secure a title.

The Reds would have ideally been travelling to North London with the prospect of boosting their own title hopes, but instead, a win would merely narrow the gap to the Gunners to 11 points. Despite the significant gulf that has emerged between the two clubs, Arteta had nothing but praise for Liverpool and Arne Slot.

"Well, the margins I think for all of us are really small, we always talk about that," Arteta commented (via Football London). "They have a great manager, they have a sensational structure.

"Understanding what they have to do in relation to the players that they select tomorrow on the line, and they can play in different ways.

"Because at the end, those will make them a little bit different and more specific to what we can expect tomorrow, and we have to be conscious of that and then focus on what we have to do.

Liverpool splashed out over £400 million ($539M) in the summer on new signings, but Slot has struggled to elevate the team's overall performance, leading to a slump.

Arne Slot has struggled to get Liverpool firing despite spending big in the summer transfer window(Image: Getty Images)

Arteta was questioned on how surprised he was by the extent to which Liverpool lag behind the Gunners, considering the amount invested in the squad.

"I don't know," he responded. "But I think the previous year they didn't spend much, and they managed to win the Premier League.

"That's football, and that's the reality of that. At the end, you need a lot of things to go your way to be champions, and almost everything has to be perfect.

"The moment you have issues around the squad or with players injured or whatever it is, then it is not that perfect. We all have gone through those stages, and we go through those stages throughout the season, and we have to navigate through that."

However, when questioned about whether Liverpool's campaign demonstrated that substantial investment doesn't automatically guarantee continued success, Arteta seemed to imply the evidence base might be too limited at present, and that over time, expenditure will drive achievement.

"Well, there are a lot of stories - especially when you talk about the level of wages that you spend on the squad and the level of players that you have," he said.

"Over a certain period of time, you are going to be very successful. That's the history of the Premier League. It is not something that I am saying that has happened time after time in this league over the years."

Despite Liverpool's form, Arsenal suffered defeat at Anfield, and the outcome prompted scrutiny of Arteta's tactics.

Arsenal lost at Anfield back in August(Image: Alex Pantling, Getty Images)

Five months later, Arteta acknowledged that differing viewpoints exist and maintained that if outsiders had access to the information, data and insight available to him, those perspectives might shift.

"People can have different opinions and understand why we decide certain things or pick certain players as well. But we know. But we know their physical state, probably more, because nobody asked me.

"Is there a place available to start? Nobody asked. People assume that. We have all the information. You guys don't, and it's normal, and we don't want to provide that either.

"So normally with the information that you have, you have to make the judgment that, in your opinion, was the best case to win the game. That has to be accepted."