The pair have been having their say on Liverpool's chance of defending the Premier League title after their 3-0 loss at Manchester City on Sunday
DOHA, QATAR - NOVEMBER 10: Arsene Wenger, French former football manager and currently Chief of Global Football Development at FIFA, watches on during the first stage Group F match between Switzerland and Mexico at Aspire Zone Sports Complex on November 10, 2025 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Chris Ricco - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Arsene Wenger believes it's 'highly unlikely' Liverpool can win the Premier League title now but isn't ruling the defending champions out
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They have not been playing like champions and the question being asked after Sunday's 3-0 loss at Manchester City was whether Liverpool actually can become champions again this season. The miserable Etihad reverse leaves the title holders eight points off pacesetters Arsenal going into the international break.
Little wonder, then, after the match that Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said: "The last thing I should think about now is the title race.
“We should first focus on getting results, result and result after result before we can even think about that. The reality is we are eighth now, one team is quite far ahead although City is four points away from Arsenal. The rest is quite close.
“I said last season many times even when we were leading, the best way to judge the league table is after 38 games, and the next best way to is to judge it after 19 games because you have all faced the same opponents.
“Our first focus should be on getting results. The last thing we should focus on is the title race. That was something we could do last season but also not the previous two seasons. We need to improve and that’s obvious.”
It was not so long ago - August 31 to be precise - when the Reds were beating Arsenal at Anfield 1-0 thanks to a stunning Dominik Szoboszlai free kick.
When the Gunners then drew 1-1 at home to City three weeks later it left them five points behind leaders Liverpool and left manager Mikel Arteta facing the same kind of questions Slot is right now.
But in retrospective, whereas a battling point at home to Pep Guardiola's men and a narrow defeat at the home of the champions were not disastrous results, there is no getting away from the fact that Slot's side's run of five defeats in their last six matches - and seven in 10 when stretched across all competitions - is dire.
But is it terminal to their hopes of retaining the title? Arsene Wenger, the legendary former Arsenal manager who won the league three times at Highbury, does not believe so.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS ahead of the City clash, he said: "Man City vs Liverpool is always a big game but there’s also the fact that you would not want to be in the shoes of the loser.
"Liverpool have lost four games, they lose one more it’s five, can you still win the Premier League if you’ve lost five games by November? It’s very unlikely.
"It’s not a game you want to lose if you want to win the Premier League. They can still have a great season in Europe but it’s hard to win the championship.
Before adding: "They are not out of the title race, they are not out of the title race because we are in November."
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 09: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool stand dejected following Manchester City's third goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on November 09, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool's players stand dejected following Manchester City's third and final goal at the Etihad Stadium
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It's a view shared by City legend Paul Dickov, who scored one of the most famous goals in the club's history, before the Abu Dhabi takeover, in the 1999 Division Two play-off final against Gillingham at Wembley.
Speaking to Best Betting Bonuses, he said: "I think it's too early to write Liverpool out of the title race. What I will say is looking at them against City, I thought they looked a little done, a little bit tired. They looked a little bit short of confidence.
"The energy that you would associate with Jurgen Klopp's team, and Arne Slot’s last season, didn’t seem to be there.
"But when they've got the quality in the team that they've got, when you’ve got a spine with Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch, plus talent such as Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike, there’s just too much quality to write them off yet.
"I think hindsight's a wonderful thing. If you look at them over the last month or so, you would probably say yes (they changed too many things). But at the start of the season, when they were making all these signings, everybody was waxing lyrical about how strong they're going to be and how difficult they're going to be to beat.
"There's no doubt that with the signings that they've made, especially in attacking areas, they are top quality players. But what you've got to do is try and integrate these individuals into a team very quickly.
"If the team's not performing, it's really difficult for you to do. But with the likes of Isak and Wirtz, there will be great stuff to come, but it’s hard for them to hit the ground running when your teammates are struggling.
"You need players who know the pressure of being at Liverpool and know the pressure of being champions, but they aren't performing either."
Wenger shared a similar view to Dickov when offering his assessment of the Reds after Sunday's contest: "They look like they were tired from the last game they played against Real Madrid.
"They were low on energy and even spirit-wise the second goal is a good example of them lacking commitment a little bit.
"Man City were the much better team, technically in small spaces they were much more subtle and Liverpool didn’t create a lot."
The Reds return to action after the international break at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, November 22 (3pm kick-off).