Arne Slot has said Liverpool are uninterested in Arsenal’s results as the Reds focus on themselves in the title race.
Liverpool missed the chance to extend their advantage to 10 points after being held to a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on Wednesday night. The Merseysiders boast an eight-point advantage over Arsenal, thought the Gunners have a game in hand.
Mo is now the first player to score 15 away league goals for the club in a single @premierleague season ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Jw69bXmOgt
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 19, 2025
Arsenal play a day before Liverpool this weekend when the North Londoners host West Ham at the Emirates. However, Slot has played down the importance of Arsenal having the chance to increase the pressure on the leaders.
The Dutchman insisted his side’s focus is solely on a crunch clash with Manchester City at the Etihad.
“The bigger question is from Man City. We play a strong team again, like we did [Aston] Villa. Arsenal play before us, but that doesn’t make the game more difficult,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“We know we have 12 games to play, Arsenal has 13 games to play. If we constantly look at Arsenal and what other teams are doing then that will not help us. We know already how difficult it is to go to the Etihad, so we don’t need Arsenal to get involved in that even more.”
Slot is expecting a formidable challenge from Manchester City, despite a disappointing defence of the title from the champions. The Citizens crashed out of the Champions League at Real Madrid in midweek and are 17 points behind Liverpool in the table.
“What I always expect from City since Pep [Guardiola] is there is a great football team that can play so well. They’ve had maybe one or two months since the seven or eight years he’s there now that maybe weren’t the best – partly because of injuries as well.
“They have signed three or four players and I can see them coming back already if you look at the result against Newcastle. What you expect is what everyone expects if you go to the Etihad if you play against City.
“You have to suffer as well and work really hard to keep them away from your goal because they are so, so good in possession. But they face a strong team as well that have not lost in 22 games now.”
