Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he is waiting for Liverpool to collapse in the Premier League title race, in a potential attempt at mind games.

Back in August, some felt that this season was the Gunners’ big chance to win a first league crown since 2004, having taken Man City close in the past two years.

Instead, Arsenal find themselves nine points adrift of Liverpool heading into December, dropping points in six of their first 12 Premier League games.

The north Londoners look hugely dependent on Martin Odegaard’s fitness, with the Norwegian’s return coinciding with some improved form.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Arteta explained how he is awaiting a dropoff from the Reds, discussing the difficulty of retaining such a high level.

“We’ve been there and to sustain it for 10 months is extremely difficult, everything has to go your way, and sadly when you think you have it, one day it collapses,” Arteta said.

“It can happen at any moment and we have to be ready for that.

“But it’s something we can’t control. What we can control is be at our very best.”

Whether this is mind games from Arteta is up for debate, but his spiky personality suggests that he is doing his best to unsettle Liverpool.

The Spaniard will be feeling the heat after still failing to win a major trophy in five years as Arsenal manager, with his only silverware an FA Cup behind closed doors in 2020.

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The pressure is all on the Gunners currently, however, and City for that matter, with Liverpool building a big enough advantage to give themselves room for error.

A tricky period is likely to arrive for Arne Slot and his players, as is the case with the vast majority of teams in any season, but there is no hint of a collapse.

Liverpool have a huge week ahead of them that could look defining come the end of the season, starting with Sunday’s much-anticipated visit of City.

Trips to Newcastle and Everton swiftly follow, and if the Reds have picked up maximum points from those three matches, they will be in a wonderful position.

The Liverpool superstar has spoken out.

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has spoken out about his current contract negotiations with the club, and fans are shocked.

On Sunday, Liverpool continued their impressive form in the Premier League this season as they came back to beat Southampton 3-2 at St Mary’s Stadium.

As he has been on several occasions this season, Salah was central to Liverpool’s success in the match, scoring a brace to equalise and later win the hard-fought match.

However, after the match Salah made a huge revelation about his contract negotiations with Liverpool, ahead of his current deal expiring in the summer.

Speaking after Sunday’s win against Southampton, Salah said: “We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club. I’m probably more out than in.

“You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.

“I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands.”

The Egyptian winger was then asked by reporters if he was disappointed about the current situation, he confessed: “Of course, yeah. I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well.

“I’m disappointed but we will see.

“I am very professional. Everybody can see my work ethic. I’m just trying to enjoy my football and I will play at the top level as long as possible.”

Having played such a pivotal role in Liverpool’s success in recent years, many fans believe Salah has earned the right to extend his stay with the club, extending his current deal which sees him earn £350,000 per week.

Reacting to the 32-year-old’s shocking revelation on social media, one fan wrote: “Is this club actually serious?? Practically December and not an offer to our best player. Sort it out.”

While one suggested: “Start protesting lads. Get the banners out this is an absolute disgrace.”

And one noted: “This is insane. Mo Salah’s worth to Liverpool — on and off the pitch — can’t be underestimated.

“As well as being the best player in the Premier League he’s a cultural icon across the Arab world and beyond.”

Liverpool have spoken out as Premier League rivals Manchester City went 3-0 down to Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool fans have spoken out after Premier League rivals Manchester City went 3-0 down to Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.

After a two week international break, the Premier League is back in action on Saturday with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Arsenal all in action.

The Gunners got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 win over an in-form Nottingham Forest, leading all eyes to the Etihad Stadium as defending champions City welcomed Tottenham Hotspur.

But, in a shocking turn of events, the visitors went 3-0 up after a two goal lead in the first half was cemented with a third goal in the second, and it’s got Liverpool fans on social media excited.

Reacting to the scoreline, one Liverpool fan wrote: “Arne Slot is going to win the Premier League in his first attempt.

“You heard it here first.”

While another joked: “Arne Slot rocked up, hit this pose, and Pep hasn’t been the same since.”

And one fan warned his peers not to get carried away yet, writing: “We still have to win our game tomorrow regardless of the Manchester City result. Focus is key lads. One game at a time.”

For their next Premier League match, Liverpool travel to St Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton on Sunday and, should City fail to mount a comeback, the Reds will have the opportunity to go eight points clear atop the League table.

And next weekend they will have an opportunity to extend their lead over City even further, as they welcome Pep Guardiola’s side to Anfield for a mouth-watering top of the table clash.

But before the clash with City, the Merseyside team will host La Liga giants Real Madrid in a Champions League fixture at home.

Speaking ahead of the back-to-back matches against Real and City, Slot said: “Last season, they [players] were competitive throughout the whole season and the seasons before.

“So for them it is not the first time they go into a week where they face two teams that dominated football in the last four or five years in the league and Champions League.”

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has vowed to prove his doubters wrong after receiving criticism from a section of the Anfield faithful. The Scotland captain is yet to establish himself as Arne Slot’s first-choice left-back, and has been rotated for Kostas Tsimikas on multiple occasions.

Robertson missed most of Liverpool’s pre-season over the summer due to an ankle injury. Due to this, the 30-year-old has been heavily rotated with Tsimikas and is aiming to get back to his usual form.

Robertson stated (via Mirror):

“Last couple of games I’ve been on the bench and I got doubters for the first time in a long time, first time at this club. But it suits me in this position. I am trying to prove people wrong again. I tried to do that against Villa.”

“I want to play every game, of course, but that was not possible. I knew that the next time I got a chance I would take it and that’s what I tried to do.”

He added:

“Look, I am a lot older and a lot wiser now than when I came in. When I first came in I was only 23, first time playing for a big club. I have been here for seven years and won everything, played in a lot of big games”

“I am a lot more experienced and a lot better at switching off from everything like overreactions and things like that. Probably a bad 45 minutes of football against Arsenal, it was not great. I think pretty much everyone had written me off after that. That is football and that is what happens these days. People can write me off all they want. But I will always try to keep working, keep improving, I have tried to do that and hopefully I have shown that.”

Andy Robertson has made 15 appearances across competitions this season but is yet to register a goal contribution. He was also benched for Liverpool’s recent games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Bayer Leverkusen with Tsimikas preferred at left-back. The latter has emerged as a vital squad player for the Reds, recording one assist in 11 appearances.

Despite Robertson’s dip in form this season, the Scotsman has established himself as one of the best left-backs in Premier League history since debuting for the Reds in 2017. He has scored 11 goals and provided 65 assists in 312 appearances across competitions, helping Liverpool win eight trophies.

“They can outscore you” – Theo Walcott highlights Liverpool’s advantage in Premier League title race

Former Arsenal attacker Theo Walcott has praised Liverpool for their goal-scoring threat, admitting their excellent goal difference could help them in their Premier League title challenge.

The Reds recently dispatched Aston Villa 2-0 in the league to extend their lead at the top of the table. They currently have 28 points from 11 games, having scored 21 goals and conceded just six with an impressive goal difference of 15 – the highest in the league.

With Manchester City and Arsenal having a goal difference of nine and six, respectively, the Reds already have a good advantage in the title race. Walcott highlighted this, saying (via Rousing the Kop):

“I would not write off anyone who is up there now, absolutely not. Liverpool at some point are going to stumble and they will have injury problems like every other team.”

“What Liverpool have got going for them is they have seemingly endless amounts of goals in their team. If you look at their goal difference compared to the teams chasing them, it is massive. So it doesn’t really matter if they do start conceding goals, because they can outscore you.”

The Reds next face Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday, November 24.

Ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink claims he is “not surprised” by Arne Slot’s strong start to life as Liverpool manager.

Some Dutch coaches have struggled to adapt outside of their own country but, speaking to Genting Casino, Hasselbaink said he did not have such concerns about Slot based on what he heard about him from others:

“To be honest, I’m not surprised by the start that Arne Slot has overseen because a lot of football people in Holland, people that I know, all told me the same thing, they expected him to be a success. He’s not typically Dutch in his style. A lot of Dutch managers can struggle outside of the Netherlands, but people told me that it would be a different story for Slot. I don’t know him personally, but you can see what he’s trying to do after five Premier League games.”

Hasselbaink says he has been very impressed by what he has seen of Slot at Liverpool so far but he still doesn’t believe they will be genuine title contenders, stating he expects them to finish behind Manchester City and Arsenal:

“His teams are very good on the press, and they’re very flexible tactically. He isn’t the type of manager that is afraid to make big decisions with his players and the starting eleven. He’s gone in and made an impact quickly. From the outside, everything looks good. I like the football I’ve seen from his team. It looks like the perfect match and the perfect replacement for Klopp. I expect Liverpool to be up there at the end of the season. I don’t think they have enough to win the title, but third place, no problem.”

Slot’s appointment has gone as well as could have been hoped

Succeeding Jurgen Klopp in the dugout was expected to be tough. The German has very big shoes to fill but Slot has made the transition seamless so far.

Based on Hasselbaink’s comments, though, it seems supporters shouldn’t have been worried about the change in manager.

Liverpool need to show they can beat the best

While the Reds currently sit top of the table, it is fair to say that they haven’t really been tested so far in their first six league games. The shock home defeat to Nottingham Forest does suggest that there is room for improvement.

Sterner examinations are yet to come but if Slot’s team do get some big wins against the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal over the coming weeks then conversations about their title credentials may begin to change.

Sipke Hulshoff was booked during the first half of Liverpool’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League after emotions threatened to boil over.

Anthony Taylor’s yellow cards were not exclusively reserved for the players during Liverpool’s meeting with Wolves, as staff members on both benches were cautioned during the first half at Molineux.

The Reds travelled to Wolverhampton on Saturday in the knowledge that a win would be enough to take them to the top of the Premier League table after Manchester City’s draw at Newcastle.

However, Liverpool did not have it all its own way in the first half as Wolves had the better of proceedings throughout the opening half an hour.

The visitors grew into the game as half-time approached, and Ibrahima Konate eventually gave Arne Slot’s side the lead during first-half injury time, but not before Diogo Jota faced a VAR check for a possible red card after a hefty challenge on Mario Lemina.

Jota escaped with just a booking, and after cautioning the Portugal international, referee Taylor headed over to the dug-outs to show his yellow card to Liverpool coach Spike Hulshoff and Wolves coach Shaun Derry. Hulshoff and Derry were booked after becoming involved in a heated argument with each other over Jota’s foul.

The first half of the match between Wolves and Liverpool was largely forgettable, but Konate ensured the Reds had a lead to defend heading into the half-time break as he headed home from Jota’s brilliant cross.

A dominant period after half-time followed and looked as though it would result in Liverpool extending its lead, but some sloppy defending from Ibrahima Konate allowed Rayan Ait-Nouri to equalise against the run of play.

Wolves remained level for a matter of minutes, though, as Jota was brought down in the box by Nelson Semedo and Mohamed Salah duly dispatched the resultant free-kick.

Should Liverpool go on to record victory at Wolves, only Aston Villa could end the Premier League weekend level on points with the Reds.

Manchester City and Arsenal will both be a point behind the Reds on 14, but Unai Emery’s side is currently on 12 points from five games and Villa travels to Ipswich Town on Sunday.

The status of Mo Salah’s future at Liverpool is enough to give any Red nightmares.

The talismanic figure is part of a trio of Liverpool stalwarts whose contracts are set to expire at the end of the season. Between Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool could look drastically different on-pitch than they have at any point in the last eight years.

Despite Trent’s links to European giants Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Salah’s future has always been a bit more questionable.

Speaking on talkSPORT, former Aston Villa player turned pundit Gabby Agbonlahor has revealed that he’s hearing rumours of the attacker moving to Saudi Arabia.

“I think he’ll end up getting more than [Cristiano] Ronaldo is getting paid over there, he’ll be the face [of the league].” Agbonlahor said.

“I’m hearing it’ll be free transfer and how annoying would that be for Liverpool to lose Salah at 31 on a free transfer.” the pundit carried on, “I can’t say [who told me] but I just think he would have signed a new contract by now and it’s enough money that he can’t turn down over there.”

Whilst any news followed by ‘I can’t give up my sources’ should always be taken with a pinch of salt, this isn’t the first time that Salah has been linked to Saudi Arabia.

Mo Salah set for Saudi?

If Agbonlahor were to be believed, then Salah would be earning in excess of Cristiano Ronaldo’s current eye-watering £3m-plus-per-week deal. With his current deal sitting at £250,000 a week, and the expectations being that Liverpool would need to pay him £400,000 to get a deal done, he couldn’t be blamed too much if that was the decision he made.

Salah would follow fellow former Reds Sadio Mané, who reportedly earns in excess of £600,000 per week at Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr side, Roberto Firmino (£300,000+ per week at Jeddah-based side Al-Ahli), Gini Wijnaldum (£200,000+ per week at Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq), and Fabinho (£200,000+ per week at league champions Al-Ittihad).

A free transfer would be a worse-case scenario for the Reds, however almost certainly already factored in with Salah’s contract being allowed to run down to expiry. If he were to leave, replacing him would be a nigh-on impossible task.

The Reds got back to winning ways at Anfield banishing any memories of last weekend’s shock defeat to Nottingham Forest – Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and several others impressed.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool impressed with a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

The Dutch boss made several changes coming into proceedings, with second-choice goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher replacing the injured Alisson in the net. Darwin Nunez was given a chance with his first Premier League start this term, with Diogo Jota making way.

Liverpool fans would have been keen to see new man Federico Chiesa out for the first time at Anfield, but he settled for a place on the bench after appearing during the midweek victory over AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

The Reds were in for an early shock when, on four minutes, Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo had the ball in the net in front of the Kop, but it was ruled out for an offside in the build-up to the relief of the Anfield faithful.

This seemed to wake the home side up; Luis Diaz used his usual trickery to beat a defender three minutes later, when he unleashed a powerful shot, but on-loan Chelsea ‘keeper Kepa was up to the task with a smart save.

Then, on 13 minutes, Dominik Szoboszlai’s volleyed pass split the Cherries’ defence, but Mohamed Salah could only test the keeper once more.

However, the resistance did not last long, on 27 minutes, Diaz beat the offside trap before taking a tidy touch to take it around the ‘keeper, then he added the finishing touch to give Slot’s side the lead.

Just two minutes later, the Colombian doubled his tally, receiving the ball at the back post before beating Kepa once more.

Sticking with the South American theme, Nunez got in the act with arguably the pick of the bunch. He cut inside on 37 minutes before striking a perfect shot past the Cherries’ goalkeeper to give Slot’s side a three-goal lead going in at half-time.

The game was all but over by the second period but fans were eventually treated to new man Chiesa who, alongside Cody Gakpo, was given his chance on 73 minutes in place of goalscorers Nunez and Gakpo.

The win sees Liverpool up to first-place, leaping above Manchester City in the table, with Pep Guardiola’s side set to face Arsenal tomorrow afternoon.

Sticking with Szoboszlai

After last week’s torrid home performance against Nottingham Forest, the Hungarian was singled out by many Liverpool supporters for his lacklustre performance. However, this week he has answered several critics with a goal in the 1-3 victory in Italy before putting in another tidy performance against Bournemouth.

Delightful Diaz

The Colombian has clearly always had the skill and talent to light up Anfield but it was his finishing that fans questioned at times last season. However, any questions were answered on Saturday afternoon with two goals in as many minutes to take his tally to three goals for the season – adding today’s return to his header in the 0-3 win at Old Trafford recently.

Calm Kelleher

Although he was linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, the Irishman was up to the task as he filled in for usual shot-stopper Alisson, against Adoni Iraola’s side. Yes, it was not the most pressurised of games, but he did what was asked of him – always a good thing to fall back in the nightmare of Alisson picking up a long-term knock occurs.

Determined Darwin

The maverick striker was seemingly frozen out in recent weeks but when given his chance against the Cherries, he certainly took it. His 37th-minute strike, to make it 3-0, showed the fans and manger exactly what he can do; he cut inside with nothing on, so unleashed a wonderful strike from the edge of the box, giving Kepa no chance and the Reds a secure lead. His performance may have given the new Liverpool boss something to consider when selecting his side for next week’s trip to Wolves.

Timeless Trent.

The Liverpool-born defender, was once again in impressive form. He provided the assist for Diaz’s second and in doing so registered his 100th goal involvement as a Reds player – 19 goals and 81 assists. Despite not really being tested defensively his attacking class was there for all to see on a pleasant afternoon for those in Red.