Bergkamp sends Liverpool warning to Arsenal after spotting one thing on Wednesday

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Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp believes Liverpool are serious title contenders.

Arsenal will travel to Anfield on Saturday to take on Liverpool in a Premier League clash.

The Gunners are currently top of the table, one point ahead of the second-placed Merseyside outfit. If there is a winner in Saturday’s encounter, then that side will spend Christmas at the summit of the Premier League table.

Beyond that, though, this fixture will decid very little. We have not yet even reached the halfway point in the campaign. Whilst both Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp will be desperate to win this match, they will also be aware that there is still a long, long way to go this season. 

Liverpool will be on a high heading into this match, having thrashed West Ham United 5-1 in an EFL Cup quarter-final clash on Wednesday evening. 

It was watching that game that convinced Dennis Bergkamp that the Reds ought to be taken seriously in the context of the Premier League title race. Speaking to fellow Arsenal icon, and former goalkeeper, David Seaman, on the Seaman Says podcast, the Dutchman said, “I saw that game yesterday and they showed the bench, two players were coming on and I was like ‘Oh, wait a minute. They’ve got him, him and him.’ They were all injured. They all have to come back and if they come back at the right time, they might have a chance to win [the title].”

Strength in depth a key issue for Arsenal and Liverpool

Arsenal certainly can’t afford to take this game, or the threat Liverpool will pose throughout the season, lightly. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher may well have already confessed that he considers the Gunners favourites in the title race ahead of his former club, but it should not be forgotten that Klopp knows that it takes to triumph in the Premier League, having led his side to glory in 2020.

Against West Ham on Wednesday, the German coach was able to name the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate, and Luiz Diaz amongst his substitutes, whilst still including stars such as Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, and Darwin Nunez in his starting XI. This demonstrates the strength in depth that Bergkamp highlighted.

Having such strength in depth is crucial to a successful title push, as Arsenal learned to their cost last season when they failed to cope with William Saliba’s absence after he was injured ahead of the run-in.

Arsenal invested heavily in the summer in order to address this shortcoming in their squad, with Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, and David Raya all arriving at the Emirates Stadium. However, there may well be more work to do in this regard in the upcoming January transfer window.