At 4.48pm on Saturday, Arsenal were hoping to catch Liverpool. At the end of the day, Arne Slot’s men had one hand in the competition. Was this a famous day at the racetrack?

As the clock neared stoppage time in west London as Liverpool were held 0-0 by Brentford, Arsenal fans sitting in their seats at the Emirates would have seen an opportunity.

Can they close the gap to just two points?

But then Darwin Nunez did Darwin Nunez things.

It turned out that Liverpool was just laughing.

Nunez’s late double sent the club to a three-point lead as it stood and Arsenal’s chance to move further in the title race disappeared. As the full-time whistle blew for the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, the home fans had their heads in their hands.

The gap is now six points and Liverpool have a game in hand.

According to bookmakers, Slot’s men now have a 77 percent chance of winning the title – the best chance any team has had this season.

“The shock is huge,” he said Sky Sports‘Paul Merson.

“I would be surprised if Liverpool didn’t win the competition from here. For me, it was too easy from Arsenal, too stupid.

“If you want to win in the Premier League you have to go every day, every week. You have to be ready to do the business.

“I’ve supported Arsenal for the last two years, and I thought you know what they’ve done luckily, they’ve pushed one of the best teams we’ve ever seen into the finals and the finals.

“Now I’m looking at them and I think they’re going to get it? When push comes to shove like today?”

Sky Sports’ Commenting, Gary Neville said: “Arsenal are 2-0 up here. There are sad faces on the pitch and around the pitch.

“It’s a big day in the title race and it’s very close for Liverpool.”

Arsenal were leading their match against Aston Villa at 2-0 but two quick goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins from meters that exposed Arsenal’s weakness without William Saliba turned the contest around.

On all of these goals, Merson said: “It’s a student mistake. It’s not that teams are opening and you’re going ‘oh my god’.”

“I don’t care what division you are in, those two goals can be stopped when you do your job.

“What you’re asking as a manager is for the players to go and do their job.

“And today some players let Mikel Arteta down and I don’t think it’s because the team is shallow because today we saw two big mistakes – Mikel Merino letting Tielemans chase him and honestly, I can’t believe what I just saw with Thomas Partey. (leaving Watkins free to score a goal).

Arteta: Liverpool supporters beat them but we are too few

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal They are “too short” and suggested the club must do something in the January transfer window after their 2-2 draw with Villa.

When asked if it felt like the most important moment in the competition because of Liverpool’s success, he said: “There is a moment. Obviously, they managed to do it.

“He made the subs, and the subs touched, and he was able to change the game.

“And on our side it was different, even if we scored the two goals very close to each other, there was a danger because I knew how this team is, we could go down because we were tired.

“The team got some tools to go again and put Aston Villa in the box again, and go again, trying to get the goal that we didn’t get in the end.”

Although his side were tired, Arteta only used him as a substitute for the on-loan Raheem Sterling, who was unable to make an impact.

When asked if the situation shows that January should improve the team’s game, he said: “Not the result, if you look at the way they are playing, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level in the league, but if you look at the bench. , you might be saying, I think we are too short.

When asked if he was worried about Saliba’s injury, he said: “Yes, of course. Especially with the numbers we have in the team and looking at our bench.

He added: “In attack and defence, the level we are playing at is very high. We were very good but there is something missing, the line is very thin.

“Today we cannot allow the goals we did. The line is very thin, we have been punished before and we cannot do it.”

Analysis: If Salah doesn’t get it, the bench will

Sky Sports’ Oli Yew:

Nunez and Liverpool finally came good, and it was Slot’s ability to bring out Liverpool’s bench with new attacking tactics that could prove difficult for them to win their first title in five years.

Liverpool, who were also without the injured Diogo Jota, fired an incredible 37 at Brentford – a Premier League away team record – but it was their ability to keep up the pressure with fresh legs that finally got them over the line. .

It was Nunez who came to the rescue on the occasion but Harvey Elliott, who hasn’t had as many minutes as he would have liked this season, also played a big role off the bench with a second assist.

If Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo can’t get you, Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott will! And while other sides in the league are struggling with injuries and missing squads, this depth could be a key factor in Liverpool’s bid to bring the title to Anfield.

Frank: Liverpool are at the top

Brentford manager Thomas Frank compares Liverpool favorably to Arsenal and Manchester City:

“I think we have just played City and Arsenal and now Liverpool, in a short time. For me, (Liverpool) is a level above these two teams. They are solid. Their work, the way they are doing at the back, is good. Good signs.

“They are the best all over the pitch. Such a threat going forward. This is good, very good. They are the best team in the Premier League and in the world. They are favorites to win (the title).”