Why Liverpool, Arne Slot have almost won Premier League title race despite Arsenal fears

Arne Slot relied on last-gasp heroics from Darwin Nunez to rescue all three points against Brentford last Saturday, but the result was hugely significant as Arsenal dropped points against Aston Villa on the same day.

The Reds now have a six-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal but also have a game in hand, and the Gunners still have to go to Anfield later in the season, where they have not won since September 2012.

While Lynch acknowledged that the title race is not yet over, he insisted that Liverpool are not far from all but securing the league, telling Sports Mole: "I understand why people are reluctant [to say this], and nobody wants to look stupid, but it's not arrogance or getting ahead of yourself to say that Liverpool are very close to having this in the bag.

"Man City are completely out of it, so you don't have to worry about that. They might get on a run at the back end of the season, but the gap is just too big for them to get close to Liverpool, and they are a side capable of going on a run. Outside of that, Liverpool's next biggest rivals are Arsenal. Already, there's that huge gap - they've [still] got to [go to] Anfield."

Liverpool have lost out on winning the Premier League twice to Manchester City since 2018-19 despite accumulating 97 and 92 points in that time, but the champions are on track to total just 66 points this term.

Why Liverpool are unlikely to be caught by Arsenal

The Merseysiders have not been perfect in recent weeks considering they have drawn four of their last eight top-flight matches, but no other side in England have demonstrated they are capable of capitalising on the Reds' mistakes.

Arsenal have drawn eight and lost two of their 22 league fixtures, and have struggled to cope with the injury to key attacker Bukayo Saka.

When asked by Sports Mole about the chances of Liverpool losing the title to Arsenal, Lynch dismissed their chances, saying: "They've got no Bukayo Saka, who's absolutely massive for them. The set-piece goals are drying up now because his delivery is being missed, they've lost Gabriel Jesus in attack.

"They don't look like a side that's going to consistently score enough goals to be a real threat in the Premier League title race, whereas Liverpool - [they have the] best attack and best defence on surface level numbers, [and have the] best attack and best defence on the underlying numbers. They're comfortably showing they're the best team, they've got a massive lead, they've got a healthy squad - there's a lot to like."

Liverpool have scored the most goals, conceded the fewest times and produced the most xG, whereas Arsenal have created the seventh most xG of the teams in the Premier League.

Could Liverpool win more than just the Premier League?

Liverpool came the closest any English side has to winning an unprecedented quadruple in 2021-22, claiming both domestic cups but missing out on the Premier League title by one point on the final day of the season and losing the Champions League final 1-0 against Real Madrid.

Slot's side are clear favourites for the Premier League title this term, and they have won all seven of their Champions League ties under Slot, beating the likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.

The Reds have only been beaten twice in 33 games in 2024-25, and Lynch told Sports Mole that the club are likely to triumph in the league at minimum, saying: "They're probably going to go on and win the [Premier League] title. You can't be dragged down by fears or worry of looking silly - it's fair to say that all the evidence points to the fact that Liverpool are going to do it.

"Obviously [there's] still a long way to go, and I don't think there'll be any talk like that in the building, but I think for us from the outside, in terms of analysing the situation, the picture looks incredibly rosy for Liverpool."

Liverpool are set to host Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, and given the visitors were beaten 6-0 by a struggling Manchester City side last Sunday, the Reds should be confident of winning comfortably.

Written by

Lewis Nolan