Theo Walcott has noticed a ‘scary truth’ about Arsenal which contrasts sharply with the mood at Liverpool of late.
It was only three-and-a-half weeks ago that the Reds had the chance to temporarily go eight points clear of Mikel Arteta’s side at the Premier League summit, but instead the Gunners now sit four points ahead of the reigning champions and have Paul Merson proclaiming that they could ‘run away’ with the title.
Whilst Arne Slot’s side have lost to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United in that time, the north Londoners have beaten Newcastle, West Ham and Fulham, with those of those wins coming away from the Emirates Stadium.
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Walcott warns Liverpool that Arsenal ‘will only get better’
Walcott was struck by how relaxed the Arsenal hierarchy looked at Craven Cottage on Saturday and also hinted that the Liverpool head coach could start to get ‘sulky’ and affect the mood within the Merseyside club.
The 36-year-old told the PA news agency (via Liverpool Echo): “Arsenal will only get better and that is the scary truth, but when you look at Liverpool, who are trying to integrate so many players and then lose this many games, how is Arne Slot going to react to that?
“Is he going to be sulky? Is he going to be different to his staff and different to his players? Will it affect his home life away from the game? We haven’t seen that side before. It can bleed down to everywhere, even the younger groups.
“I look at Arsenal right now and it is only positive. I saw on TV the other day [Arsenal co-chairperson Josh] Kroenke cracking a joke and laughing when he was watching Arsenal’s match against Fulham from the stands.
“Normally you don’t see owners like that. They are dead serious and not as relaxed, but he looks so relaxed and that filters down to the players, to the manager, and it is a reflection as to where the team is right now.”
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Liverpool have the time and the know-how to turn things around
There’s no denying that the last month couldn’t have gone any better for Arsenal and any worse for Liverpool, with the Gunners currently enjoying all of the momentum in the title race while the defending champions simply try to end their losing streak and get their season back on track.
Publicly at least, Slot has maintained a cool head and doesn’t appear to be showing any major strain amid the Reds’ collapse in form, although there have been claims that the Dutchman could soon be ‘under pressure’ if his team’s fortunes don’t change.
The 47-year-old will be acutely aware that his side can’t afford to fall much further behind the pace-setters if they’re to prolong the attempted defence of their title into the spring months, although we play before Arsenal (and Manchester City) next weekend and could temporarily cut the gap on the leaders to one point.
Also, whereas the burden of expectation will grow on Arteta’s team if they continue to lead the way and extend their current three-point advantage, they’ve yet to prove that they can go the distance in a title race, whereas Liverpool have been there and done it just a few short months ago.
We’re only approaching the quarterway mark of the season, and just as the picture at the top of the table has changed drastically over the past month, there’s more than enough time for the Reds to wrestle the momentum back in their favour as we edge nearer to the gruelling wintertime slog.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Manchester United press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
