The race for the Premier League title is starting to heat up as both Arsenal and Liverpool look to chase down Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola has turned his side into the most dominant in the division, winning the league four years on the spin.
The Spaniard will be looking to make that five, but the challenge of Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot seemingly stands in his way.
The Gunners have been the slowest of the bunch so far, trailing with three draws and one defeat from their opening nine matches.
Injuries, discipline and suspensions have all been key issues for Arsenal to deal with, but they are still clinging on.
Paul Scholes backs Liverpool in Premier League title push over Arsenal
After Arsenal’s draw with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, former Manchester United star Paul Scholes was left wanting more out of both sides in the race for the title.
The ex-midfielder believes that the two teams can improve as the season goes through, with the next month proving an important time.
Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, he said: “I wanted it to be a game where somebody could show me they could beat [Manchester] City and someone could give City a real run to win the league and I wasn’t convinced by either.
“I think both teams will get better, I think with Odegaard [coming back for Arsenal] and with Liverpool as well I think they’ll both get better once this international break gets going, you can get into a bit more of a rhythm.
“I still think Liverpool are the one team out of them two teams who could get the closest to Man City.”
It’s a bold call, given that Liverpool have finished behind Arsenal in the past few seasons and didn’t make any considerable changes to their playing squad over the summer.
However, with Slot still finding his way into the job, there is the possibility that he could change things for the Reds in his first season in charge.
- READ MORE: Arsenal now want £50m Premier League star transfer touted as Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah replacement
Mikel Arteta sacking question
Should Arsenal finish third and move backwards, there may be some questions over the future of Mikel Arteta.
The head coach has had a few chances to break Manchester City’s dominant streak as well as plenty of backing to get it over the line.
While fine margins have cost him, there may be some belief that perhaps a change is needed to get the most out of the squad.
We are a long way away from that at this stage, just nine games into the Premier League season and in the infancy of many of the cup competitions.
However, at some point, the Gunners have to start winning and pushing that journey beyond a rebuild and into domination.
Whether it reaches that stage remains to be seen, but there is increasing pressure on the Arsenal boss to start delivering on the success he has had so far.
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