Arsenal have no hope of clawing back their 12-point Premier League deficit to Liverpool despite the Reds' recent problems, Gunners expert Charles Watts believes.
Mikel Arteta's men triumphed 1-0 over Chelsea on Sunday in their game in hand over Arne Slot's side, who now hold a 12-point lead at the summit of the Premier League standings on the same number of matches.
A couple of hours after the Gunners' victory, Liverpool ceded the EFL Cup trophy with a whimper in their 2-1 loss to Newcastle United, just days after they were also deservedly knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16.
Concerns have been raised among Liverpool fans that the Premier League title is now not the formality it appeared to be last weekend, but speaking to Sports Mole, Watts shot down any hopes of Arsenal pulling off a magnificent turnaround.
Asked if the race was still alive, Watts chuckled: "No! Of course it's done and dusted. Liverpool fans will say that because they're football fans. I think Arsenal fans will have been saying exactly the same thing if we're in the same position as Liverpool.
"It's been a bad week for Liverpool, no doubt about it. I think there was certainly a bit of a hangover going into the Carabao Cup final after what happened against PSG, which was such a demanding game emotionally and physically for them.
"Newcastle were just more up for it at the weekend. They were hungry, there was so much history riding on that for Newcastle. I think there was a lot of, not revenge, but they wanted to put things right after what happened a couple of years ago against Manchester United. Emotions saw Newcastle through in the end.
Watts: 'No title celebrations in North London'
"But that's not going to affect Liverpool in the league. They've got too much of an advantage. There's not enough games left, Arsenal aren't going to win every game. We're far from it. So no, the league title is Liverpool's. There's no doubt about it.
"What Sunday was so important for for Arsenal was just consolidating that second position, opening up the gap on Forest again and moving further away from the likes of Chelsea. I like to be optimistic, but I'm not optimistic about a title coming to North London. There's definitely going to be celebrations in May up on Merseyside, not in North London."
While it is still mathematically possible for Arsenal to rein in the Reds, who could alternatively win the league in just under a month's time, consolidating second place is seemingly now the top priority for Arteta and his troops in the final nine games.
The Gunners were full value for their London derby triumph over Chelsea, who succumbed to a Mikel Merino header in the first half as Arteta's men ended a three-game winless run in the Premier League.
As a result, Arsenal are sitting comfortably nine points clear of the Blues and four points better off than Nottingham Forest in the race for Champions League football, and there were few concerns that the Gunners would throw away their slender lead in a dull second half on Sunday.
However, Watts feels that the opening half an hour at the Emirates saw Arsenal play some of their best football in recent memory, adding: "It was a game Arsenal had to win, going into on the back of three without a win in the league. They just had to make sure they get the win, especially after Forest had won the day before and had closed the gap to one point.
"Arsenal knew if Chelsea won, then suddenly they would only be three points behind them and it would very much be a fight for top four. They had to get the job done and find a way to win. It wasn't pretty, as I didn't think it would be, but I did think Arsenal were pretty good. They were thoroughly deserving of their win.
Watts: 'First 35 minutes vs. Chelsea Arsenal's best for a while'
© Iconsport
"The first 35 minutes of the first half is the best I've seen Arsenal play for a while. They were aggressive, played in Chelsea's half, pressed well, created chances. The only issue is they didn't take them. By the time Merino scored, Arsenal should have already been ahead, but it was a deserved goal.
"I thought there were some promising signs. The second half wasn't great, but they defended really, really well and just made sure they got the job done. Arsenal knew full well, they had to get themselves over the line.
"Having got the lead and sussed Chelsea out a little bit, I think they were fairly confident that, unless they did something stupid, Chelsea weren't going to find an equaliser. The second half was just about doing your job, making sure you don't make a mistake and then get the win that was so, so important."
The North London giants have seen their set-piece powers diminish in recent weeks, but they ended their dead-ball hoodoo at an ideal time, as Merino met Martin Odegaard's delivery to the near post and stooped to flick a header behind.
The Spaniard's effort looped over all other heads and the gloves of Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez into the unguarded far side of the net, marking his fourth goal in seven matches as Arteta's emergency number nine.
Merino's header marked Arsenal's first goal from a set-piece situation in eight Premier League matches, as they had gone seven top-flight games without netting from a corner or free kick since Dominic Solanke's own goal in January's North London derby win.
Merino has not been able to consistently impress in the centre-forward role, but Watts believes that the summer signing is worthy of credit, saying: "We know that Arsenal are struggling to score goals and create major chances. Set-pieces have been such a strength of theirs, for it to fall off the cliff in the last few weeks was not great timing. So it was good to see that come back. It's such a strong weapon that Arsenal have.
Did Merino mean his header against Chelsea?
© Imago
"I think Merino absolutely meant that. I thought it was pretty harsh when I listened to, I think it was Alan Smith was on the highlights saying 'I know he didn't mean that. He's flicking it on.' I thought there was definitely a deliberate looping header to the back stick.
"It was a good header from Merino. Four goals in seven games. We can all have our say on how he's doing, but four goals in seven appearances as a makeshift striker in a position never played before, he's doing a good job for the team.
"Is it a long term thing? No, absolutely not. I don't think any of us want it to be. But while he's there and while he's been asked to play in that position, you've got to give him credit. And he was the difference maker again on Sunday."
By confidently shutting out a Cole Palmer-less Chelsea in the second half, Arsenal extended a phenomenal sequence of results against Big Six sides, as they have now gone unbeaten in 20 Premier League games against Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners have won 12 and drawn eight such matches since losing 4-1 to Man City in April 2023, including victories in four of their last five, a stark contrast to the final days of the Arsene Wenger era.
In 2014, Arsenal memorably lost 5-1 at Liverpool and then 6-0 at Chelsea - the latter of which was Wenger's 1,000th game in charge - leading Watts to proclaim that they were hitherto the "little kid at the party".
However, as Arsenal have also dropped points to the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Fulham and Everton this season, Watts has affirmed that priority number one for the coaching team must be finding a way to unlock low blocks.
Arsenal's Premier League record vs. Big Six assessed
© Imago
"It shows what we all know is that when Arsenal play teams who like to open up a little bit against them and attack, which the big six will tend to do because they go into those games wanting to win, not just wanting to not lose, Arsenal are better at dealing with that," he concluded.
"But when they come up against teams whose sole intention is to sit deep, not give them any space and not leave themselves open at the back, they struggle to break that down. The history of those results just show what we already know.
"It is impressive, though, what they're doing against the Big Six. For so long, Arsenal were always the the little kid at the party when it came to the big six. We got so used to them just sarcastically tapping us on the head as they put three or four goals past us every single time home and away.
"So it's nice to be in a position now where we're the team that are hard to beat and coming out on top against our so-called rivals. Fingers crossed that can continue. But going forward, you've got to take advantage of that by winning the games that we're all expected to win. That has to be the focus for Arsenal next season - find a way to come to pick the lock against the low block.
"It's mad to think they haven't lost so long against a Big Six rival and yet they still haven't won the league in that time, it will be incredibly frustrating. It's something that Mikel Arteta and the coaching staff have to find a way to break through."
Arsenal's first game back after the international break coincidentally comes at home to Fulham on April 1, and Arteta could receive a significant injury boost in time for that all-capital clash.
Ben Knapton
