The reaction to Liverpool's recent form has been unwarranted given Arsenal have also looked far from their best, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.
Arne Slot's side were held to a 2-2 draw by Everton on February 12, conceding a 98th-minute equaliser and failed to move nine points ahead of second-placed Arsenal.
The Merseysiders beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Anfield on February 16 in a closely-fought contest but were then held to another 2-2 stalemate on Wednesday by Aston Villa.
While Arsenal can close the gap to five points on Saturday, Lynch told Sports Mole that the Londoners have failed to impress in recent weeks, and there is nothing to suggest that they can pip Liverpool to the title, saying: "I've not personally understood the reaction to the results because Arsenal scraped a win at Leicester and it's 'wow, the sign of champions, [they] are fantastic.'
"Liverpool do the same and it's 'we're starting to see cracks appear', and the reality is if we're going to see cracks appear in either of these sides, it's looking more likely to be Arsenal. On the basis of what they've got, they are going to struggle for goals between now and the end of the season having not been particularly prolific.
"They've outscored their XG by quite a high amount. They've been unfortunate in attack so far - they've lost all these forwards, they're eight points behind. From an Arsenal perspective, [they should] be more worried."
Arsenal will have to overhaul Liverpool's eight-point lead to win the league, but they will not be able to call upon forwards Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus for the rest of the season, while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are not scheduled to return for several weeks.
Why Liverpool are better than critics think
Sir Alex Ferguson once remarked that "attack wins you games, defence wins you titles", and given Arsenal's record of 22 Premier League goals conceded is the best in the top flight, some have argued that the Gunners still have a sizeable chance of finishing first.
However, Liverpool have only conceded four goals more and boast a considerably better attack having netted 11 more times in the league, with their goal difference figure of 37 seven better than Mikel Arteta's side.
Lynch was keen to highlight that Slot's team are not as defensively vulnerable as some critics have suggested, telling Sports Mole: "About clean sheets - there's this conception that the Arsenal are unbelievably defensively strong and Liverpool are a bit flaky in that regard.
"But of course there's only four goals difference between the two in what they've conceded this season. Then you look at the expected goals numbers and they're very similar as well. It's not like Liverpool have been fortunate.
"Liverpool are defending at a very similar level to Arsenal and yet they scored 11 goals more. The expected goals is 16 more than Arsenal - they're nearly as good defensively and far better in attack."
It should also be noted that eight of the last 14 Premier League titles on offer were not won by the team with the best defensive record.
© Imago
Concern amongst fans is natural to an extent
Liverpool only won one Premier League title under previous boss Jurgen Klopp, finally ending their 30-year wait when they finished first in 2019-20 with a points tally of 99, the second highest in Premier League history.
However, Klopp's side missed out on the title in 2018-19 to Manchester City despite accumulating 97 points - the fourth-highest points total - and also lost out on the league title to City in 2021-22 despite totalling 92 points, which is the joint eighth-highest tally in the competition's history.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch expressed his belief that though some of the worries fans have are understandable considering the near misses in recent years, there is plenty for supporters to be optimistic about.
Lynch said: "I understand why there's a fear there. There's not a great amount amongst this fan base, particularly ones who are of of a certain age, [but] they've only seen one title in the last 35 years. I get that nervousness and there's a real desperation around Liverpool for fans to see this trophy lifted. It was such a shame the way it played out last time.
"[Arsenal's struggles are] something for supporters to hold on to. You don't want to see those nerves transmitting into the ground as they did for the Wolves game, but a few circumstances align there. It was freezing cold in the ground, which [doesn't] ever help the atmosphere.
"I think the fans who are watching from afar, they [shouldn't] be quite as nervous because a lot is in Liverpool's favour at the moment, and it's not always going to be plain sailing - you just have to accept that from time to time."
When Liverpool won the title in 2019-20, fans were unable to fully celebrate the win as the season was interrupted by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which also saw restrictions implemented on the ability to gather in large groups.
Lewis Nolan
