Ex-Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna believes the pressure will “ramp up” on Liverpool if they start to drop points.

Speaking to greatoffshoresportsbooks.com, Sagna says that Arne Slot’s side won’t win all of their remaining fixtures, and he still thinks that the race for the Premier League title could go down to the wire:

“As long as Arsenal keep in touch with Liverpool, then they have a great chance of winning the Premier League title this season. We know that they have to play each other before the season is over. Liverpool will drop points. They have difficult games left to play, and I don’t think they will win them all. The most important thing for Arsenal it not to lose touch with Liverpool now.”

“Liverpool have a game in hand, they could be nine points in front of Arsenal by Thursday, but that doesn’t matter and shouldn’t matter to the Arsenal players and Mikel Arteta. If Liverpool lose one game and Arsenal stay behind them, then all of a sudden, the pressure really starts to ramp up on them, which hasn’t happened at all yet this season – we haven’t really seen them under that much pressure, and that is a credit to them… Arsenal have been the second-best team in the Premier League behind Liverpool, but they may yet finish on top. Liverpool are top at the moment and they deserve to be there, but there’s a long way to go.”

The media fallout from the Plymouth game

A lot of column inches were filled after Liverpool were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle at the weekend.

However, the vast majority of Reds fans will be glad that their team are out of the competition, as it eases the pressure on the club in terms of fixture congestion.

Of course, the squad will still be keen to ensure they silence any critics and they have a perfect game to do just that, with the Merseyside derby coming up on Wednesday.

Liverpool will want to turn the screw on Arsenal

Sagna emphasises the need for the Reds’ rivals to “keep in touch” with them at the top of the table but, if Slot’s team can secure a win against Everton, it would be a massive boost.

You would certainly not class it as an insurmountable lead at this stage of the season but a nine-point gap would be a welcome cushion.

Find out who is in Liverpool’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here