Liverpool could benefit from the dispute between Man City and Arsenal – despite Arne Slot downplaying their title chances

Until then, it is up to the club to take advantage of what it hopes will be a brief period in which it will be considered less threatening, still in transition and not yet ready to make the leap from the 82 points achieved last season. to over 90, mandatory to finish first in the Guardiola era.

Slot is right to suggest that a good start cannot disguise the real challenges that still lie ahead, with victory at Old Trafford qualifying as the league’s only “declarative” result so far. This was offset by the home defeat to Nottingham Forest, ensuring the glass half-full, half-empty brigade had plenty to debate when drinking their post-match pint.

Liverpool face Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and City between October 20 and December 1, as well as Champions League games against Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.

At that point it will become clearer whether last season’s third-place finish was a prelude to the next step towards the top, or whether the widespread change in football operations over the summer has delayed the timeframe by which the club can realistically hope to become champions again. .

What is clear is that Oscar Wilde’s statement that “the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about” does not seem to apply in Slot’s case. Liverpool will be happy to continue progressing under the radar as City and Arsenal try to defeat each other.

Liverpool manager insists it is too early to assess his team’s title chances

Arne Slot says his team’s title credentials can only be assessed after “tougher” games despite an excellent start to their Anfield career.

The Liverpool boss said there is a lot to prove before it can be argued his team is ready to go far with Manchester City and Arsenal.

He said he has received a gentle introduction to the Premier League since replacing Jurgen Klopp, especially when compared to the schedule of Saturday’s opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“I think it’s always difficult to judge the league table after five, six or seven games because if you look at Wolves, they were very unlucky (with the fixture list) playing against Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Villa – that It’s a different list of games. than the one we had,” Slot said.

“So I think the best way to assess the league table is after 19 games.

“I know how good they (the players) are, but we still have things to prove when the games we all know come after the international break (Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, Villa).

“But one thing I noticed in the Premier League compared to the league I come from is that every team has a few players who cost between £40 million and £50 million and have a lot of quality, so there are no easy games in the Premier League. League. I know every manager says that, but it’s true.”