Fabio Aurelio has tipped Arsenal to play a bigger part in the title race this term after their strong start to the 2022/23 league campaign.
The Gunners find themselves at the top of the table a good six points ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s men, though only a point separates the London-based outfit and the incumbent champions.
“We’re only a few games into the season but I’ve been really impressed with Arsenal, and they’re a team we should be paying attention to,” the former Valencia man told Ladbrokes: Fanzone (as quoted by the Liverpool Echo).
“Obviously I knew Gabriel Jesus was a really good player from his time at Man City, but I didn’t expect him to fit in so well at Arsenal; he’s been so good and he’s shown us even more in the last few weeks of what he’s capable of doing than he did during his time at City.
“As far as how I see the top four looking at the end of the season, you cannot imagine Man City and Liverpool not being in there.
“Then I think it’s Arsenal who must be the third option from what we’ve seen so far. It’s early days and their calendar hasn’t been the most difficult, but you have to win games, and that’s what they’ve been doing.”
The Merseysiders are set to next take on Napoli in the Champions League and will then face Wolves, Ajax and Chelsea in a difficult mix of European and domestic fixtures ahead of the international break.
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Over the course of the season, we’d expect Liverpool to get back in the mix along with Pep Guardiola’s men, though, of course, we have to admit we’ve been impressed with how Arsenal have got their campaign underway.
They’re still missing a few signings to break the duopoly of ourselves and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, as far as we at the Empire of the Kop are concerned.
Regardless, we’ll be keeping a close eye on how the top four hopefuls bounce back from their defeat at Old Trafford, as will, no doubt, Klopp and his coaching staff.
#Ep58 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Rating Liverpool’s UCL group, making a new signing… & more!