Liverpool are the defending Premier League champions, and they’re heading to London to take on perpetual Premier League runners up Arsenal. With how the 2025-26 season has gone to date, though, it feels a world away from anything that kind of a statement might seem to imply.
This season, it’s Arsenal running away at the top of the table while Liverpool stumble along in the top four fight. Right now, the Reds are a full 14 points back of the Gunners. Whatever hopes of a title defence might have existed
for Liverpool are gone. Still, Arne Slot says his side are up for a fight.
“We’ve been competitive with everyone but haven’t had consistency against the clubs we ‘usually’ beat,” the Liverpool manager insisted ahead of kickoff. “That’s led to the fact we are 14 points behind Arsenal. So it’s another type of challenge for us, to go to Arsenal and make it a proper fight.
“They play at home so I think their fans will really be up for it. It’s probably one of the best times to be an Arsenal fan. They’re top of the league, they have an incredible team, incredible manager. I assume they’re looking forward to the game tomorrow, but we are looking forward to it as well.”
Despite their struggles, over the past month Liverpool have perhaps found something resembling solidity, and they have managed to now go nine games without defeat. To do that, though, they have almost entirely sacrificed attacking fluidity, making for football that has at times been hard to watch.
The goal now has to be to find a way to build on that, to show they can play both with more attacking flair and with more intensity. Though perhaps against this year’s presumptive champions, another game where solidity and simply not losing are the priorities would be understandable.
“We should definitely be able to find consistency and also play games that are more a joy to watch,” Slot added. “We need to keep working very hard to find openings and to find the right ideas to hurt teams. But against Fulham I don’t think many people thought it was a joy to watch.”
