Slot Concedes Liverpool Are Out of the Premier League Title Race as Arsenal Surge
8 January 2026
Slot on Liverpool's Title Race
Arne Slot admitted that Liverpool have stepped out of the competition for the English Premier League title, shifting focus now to securing a spot in the Champions League.
Outlook and Key Details
Liverpool, last season's champions, sit fourth, 14 points behind Arsenal, ahead of Thursday's clash at the Emirates.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Slot said: "It's never good to say the title race is over, because you never know what can happen in football. But the last thing we should talk about now is the title race."
He added: "We know our position makes it very hard to compete with Arsenal for the title. Our primary focus now is to finish the season in the top four or five to qualify for the Champions League. We still have other competitions like the Champions League and the FA Cup."
"If something unexpected happens, perhaps never before seen, we will try to be ready. But I won't head into a match thinking about the title; we'll go to win a game against a very strong opponent."
Asked whether a dip in form is behind Liverpool's disappointing campaign, Slot replied: "Yes and no, it's a fair comment." He stressed that occasional lapses are often down to opponents and how they set up to nullify the team.
He continued: "In the last nine games, some will tell me — and I agree — that my games against Villa and Brighton were the most entertaining to watch. I would like those people to see how Villa and Brighton played, and how other teams played against us."
He concluded: "It's not that I want us to play the way we did in some other games, but perhaps that's the next step: stop relying on what the opponent does and be good enough to apply our fast style consistently; we haven't reached that yet."
Punchline time (slightly savage, but light): If Liverpool's title bid were a stealth mission, it's classified as delayed. Then again, Arsenal lead the way, so maybe Liverpool is just buffering for a dramatic late-season upgrade.
Punchline 2: Arsenal are steering the ship; Liverpool are chasing the trophy-shaped glow-in-the-dark sticker on the top of the box. Season progress blamed on not having the right download speed—top four, please.
