Michael Owen snubbed both Arsenal and Manchester City this week when naming who he thinks is the best team in the Premier League right now. While those clubs currently occupy the top two spots in English football - a situation that looks very unlikely to change any time soon - the retired footballer-turned-pundit has raised eyebrows with his claim.
Indeed, the Gunners are seven points clear at the top, with Pep Guardiola's side in second, nine points above third-placed Aston Villa. With the Cityzens having lost just once in their previous 11 matches but still looking up in the table, the bar is set at a ridiculously high level for anyone hoping to reshuffle the title race.
Perhaps the only way other teams can be perceived as better than the top two right now is in terms of footballing philosophy, with Mikel Arteta wreaking havoc with his dark arts - a tactic that has already seen Arsenal equal the record for goals scored from corners in a Premier League season. But Owen’s decision to snub both of them in favour of inconsistent title defenders Liverpool has understandably caused a stir.
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Michael Owen Claims Liverpool are "Best Team in the Premier League"
Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrates
Liverpool's biggest issue this season has been consistency. But when at the top of their game, Owen still believes they are the best team in the Premier League. Speaking to the BBC, the former Reds' striker said (watch the full segment below):
"Personally, I think they're the best team in the Premier League. People will laugh, like 'where are they, sixth in the league?' They trounced the league last season. They're just not playing well. But if you get the best performance out of everyone in the Premier League, I think Liverpool are the best team.
"You go to Anfield, I think it's impossible if they're playing well. It's been massively frustrating, but I still find it hard to believe that you can go from being so dominant one season, and then add in some really top players, it's hard to believe they're worse now. Of course, they're playing worse this season, but I think it's only a matter of time before you see them at their very top again."
Owen concluded his explanation by comparing the current Arsenal team to Liverpool's last season, claiming he believed the Gunners could go on to win Premier League gold this term, but that their performances have been "nowhere near as good" as what they had headed into the campaign trying to match.
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Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike comes on as a substitute to replace Alexander Isak
One way of assessing Liverpool's stuttering title defence is by taking a tunnel-visioned look at their astronomical spending, which saw Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak help the club break the British transfer fee record twice in one summer. Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were among the other high-profile signings.
But it is easy to overlook the fact the Reds saw a turnover of 14 players during that period, which was always going to shake up the dressing room and make it difficult to bed all the new faces into the first real iteration of an Arne Slot squad. This contrasts with the previous summer, when the Dutchman first took the reins and made just one signing, joined only by super-sub Federico Chiesa.
There have still been issues in recent weeks, highlighted by the late defeat to Wolves and the loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League. But with Liverpool having won five of their previous seven fixtures - coinciding with an upturn in the form of Wirtz and Kerkez - there are clear signs of what is to come, with Isak also set to resume full training at some point in March.
Current form suggests they are good enough to pip Chelsea to the top six in the Premier League, and this summer will see the Reds go hell for leather in their search for a new winger, alongside defensive reinforcements. In the likely scenario that they return from their shopping trip with the players they want, they will look far more like the finished product their ambitious owners first envisaged less than 12 months ago.