Because Liverpool does not play until New Year’s Day, Arsenal could move above the Reds in the Premier League table today by beating Fulham at Craven Cottage. A win there would move the Gunners into top spot in the standings to end the calendar year, though Arsenal was seven points clear at the summit at the same point 12 months ago and ended up slipping back.
The race for the title this time around appears to involve more clubs than usual. A slightly fortunate penalty kick saw Aston Villa win late on against 10-man Burnley but Unai Emery’s side is showing signs of being a top-four contender rather than a team that can go all the way. Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City are likelier to have the staying power.
But as the three best teams in the country jostle for pole position — and there is still a very long way to go — there are differences in the make-up of each squad that could be decisive. Injuries will come into play as well, of course, but Liverpool and Manchester City both look more complete in the important areas of the pitch. Mikel Arteta has even hinted at that himself.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Fulham, as reported by London World, Arteta was asked, in the wake of his side’s defeat to West Ham United, whether they could win the Premier League title. “If we don’t improve in the boxes, no,” he replied. “Because at the end that is what it is.”
“There’s no panic,” he added. “It’s about trying to do more and do better and win games. If the team is playing like this, then you’re going to go and win a lot of games. We can be second as well. And if we win we can be first. We have to do what we can control. It’s not time to look at other teams. The level of the league is incredible.”
Arsenal has been in control of a lot of games this season, but Arteta has essentially admitted there that there are two areas in which his side needs to improve. They happen to be decisive areas in terms of winning titles. Liverpool excels in both.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are scoring at roughly the rate you would expect from their expected goals. It is not as if there is an obvious world in which they click up a gear in 2024, as might be the case with Darwin Núñez, for instance, who has eight strikes but has missed almost as many open goals.
Gabriel Jesus, who has scored three Premier League goals to date this season, has never been prolific. While that is not necessarily an issue in isolation, Arsenal does not have a Mohamed Salah figure to win games on his own. In one or two matches, that could be the difference between a draw and a win, and therefore between first and second in the table.
Liverpool, with its five forward options (plus Harvey Elliott), has a lot more choice. While it might be rare that all of them are present — and Salah, of course, will soon be heading to AFCON for a period —Jürgen Klopp has, generally, got players who can change a game off the bench. Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah can do that to an extent, but not to the same level as Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo.
In the other box, Liverpool has conceded two fewer goals than Arsenal in the Premier League this season with both sides having played 19 games. There is not a huge gap in the quality of the center-backs but there is a gulf between the goalkeepers. Arteta appears to have settled on David Raya over Aaron Ramsdale. That is an upgrade, but the Spaniard is still some way behind Alisson Becker.
Declan Rice has made a big difference to Arsenal’s midfield and Arteta made some good additions during the summer. But without a goalkeeper and a forward line as good as Liverpool’s, that is a major double advantage that Klopp and the Reds need to capitalize on this year, before the Gunners go out and bring in a fix.
