Alan Smith speaks to the ECHO about Liverpool and whether he feels the defending champions are still in the title race with his former club Arsenal
Arne Slot and Mikel Arteta and their respective Liverpool and Arsenal sides resume their Premier League title challenges this weekend
Arne Slot and Mikel Arteta and their respective Liverpool and Arsenal sides resume their Premier League title challenges this weekend
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Arsenal legend Alan Smith believes Liverpool's Premier League loss at Manchester City would have hit the defending champions 'hard'. But he thinks the international break could be just what they need.
The Reds started a big week before the final pause in domestic action for the year with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa to halt a run of four straight league defeats. They then followed that up by producing their best performance of the season to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at Anfield in the Champions League.
But Arne Slot's team headed into the international break on a low with their 3-0 reverse at Manchester City leaving them four points behind their second-placed opponents and eight behind leaders Arsenal, who had slipped up the previous evening by drawing 2-2 at Sunderland.
Liverpool will have the chance to cut the gap to Pep Guardiola's side and Mikel Arteta's men when they return to action at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday (3pm).
And Smith, who won the First Division Golden Boot when Arsenal lifted the title in 1989 and 1991, told the ECHO via BestBettingSites.co.uk: "The first point to call maybe is that they can’t give themselves that strong base, that platform to go in and keep a clean sheet, and then maybe nick games 1-0 or whatever.
"Ibrahima Konate's struggles continue, and that can have effects right across the back four and throughout the team. So there’s a lack of belief there, I think at the moment, and you thought it was building after Villa and Real Madrid, but the City defeat would have hit them hard.
"They can talk about that disallowed goal from Virgil van Dijk, and it should have been allowed, and who knows how the match would have panned out after that at 1-1. But they are a distance off where they would want to be at the moment.
"I don’t think they’d want to admit that (they are out of the title race), because eight points can be closed up, but they’ve got to do ever so well from here on in, and you’re hoping Arsenal and City just trip up a little bit. So the mood in the camp won’t be great.
"They’ll realise that they’ve really got to pull their socks up and do it quickly. Maybe the international break for them, in a way, is not bad, and I think Arteta was talking about a reset. So for Liverpool and Slot, it can be the same, and they’ve got to come back and come back with a bang."
The Gunners have finished as runners-up for three years running - to Liverpool last season and City the two seasons before that - but despite the dropped points against surprise-package Sunderland, they look intent on ending the club's 22-year wait for the title.
But Smith doesn't believe it is theirs to lose. He said: "I don't like that phrase, really. If you’ve got five games left or something, maybe you’d say it, but not in November. So they’ve got a little bit of space in between them and City, but as we know, a lot can happen.
"They’ve just dropped two points at Sunderland, so you don’t know.
"I think it’s going to be a really good race this season. Last year was a little bit boring, really, in terms of nobody could keep up with Liverpool, but I see it as a straight head-to-head between City and Arsenal.
"At the moment, of course, Arsenal have got that tiny advantage. But it is tiny, really."
The big talking point from the Reds' loss at the Etihad was the decision to rule out captain Van Dijk's pinpoint header when the score was 1-0.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 9: Andrew Robertson of Liverpool speaks with Referee Chris Kavanagh at half time during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on November 9, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk speak to referee Chris Kavanagh at half-time during Liverpool's defeat at Manchester City
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PGMOL chief Howard Webb defended the VAR decision but Smith, like many of his fellow former professionals, felt the goal should have stood.
He said: "I heard Howard Webb tying himself in knots a little bit, trying to explain why it was disallowed. I think they didn’t want to overrule the ref, really. Was it a clear and obvious error? It’s just a shame, I think, when we’re looking for ways to disallow a goal. I think the right decision would have been to have allowed it.
"Gianluigi Donnarumma was never getting across. His weight was on the other side, on the right, and he was never getting there.
"So, a little bit of shame, I think, for football as much as anything, because you want to see goals in the game, and to disallow that was a shame."
Another topic of discussion following the game was Liverpool head coach Slot's decision to keep £125m British transfer record signing Alexander Isak on the bench.
The Reds boss was clearly not willing to risk the Sweden international, who had only returned to full training two days previously.
And Sky Sports co-commentator Smith said: "I think Isak is not fully fit. Hugo Ekitike started and Ekitike has done better than Isak.
"We know he hasn’t had a pre-season, and he does take a bit of time to get up to those levels, similar to somebody who has had six weeks of pre-season. So, they’re obviously being careful with him.
"They don’t want to stick him in there, and then he underperforms, and then it affects his confidence, and Liverpool fans start wondering about him. So, they’re just being careful, but you can’t get away from the fact that he is quality.
"Once he does get that fitness, he should be a real boost for Liverpool."
Isak made his first competitive appearance in more than three weeks on Saturday when he came on in the 62nd minute of Sweden's 4-1 World Cup qualifying loss at Switzerland.
The 26-year-old is expected to get more minutes when the Swedes host Slovenia tonight (Tuesday).