Dominik Szoboszlai has warned Arsenal not to get carried away with their lead at the top of the Premier League table ahead of Thursday’s box office clash against Liverpool.
The Gunners head into the second half of the campaign six points ahead of the chasing pack after Manchester City compounded their recent stalemate against Sunderland by conceding a last minute equaliser against Chelsea last weekend.
Aston Villa, hammered 4-1 at the Emirates 10 days ago, are also six points adrift while reigning champions Liverpool are 14 points back despite being in the midst of a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Arsenal are likely to see their lead at the top trimmed this evening with City hosting Brighton and Villa in action at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace which would add further pressure ahead of meeting with one of only two sides to have beaten them this season.
Indeed it was Szoboszlai, with a brilliant late free-kick, that settled the contest when Arsenal and Liverpool met at Anfield in September and the Hungary international has warned Mikel Arteta’s side there are likely to be plenty more twists and turns before major silverware is handed out in May.
Put to him that Liverpool were set to face the champions-elect, Szoboszlai told Sky Sports: ‘Oh my god. It’s a long way… the premier league is not easy. You don’t win it by January. So I don’t think so. We are [not] playing against the Champions.
‘They are one of the favourites this year. Unbelievable team but we should also not forget about Man City, about Aston Villa, who is doing very good.
‘So we don’t play against the Champions. They [Arsenal] play against the champions.’
Hugo Ekitike, meanwhile, is a major doubt for the game. The Reds forward missed the 2-2 draw against Fulham at the weekend because of a minor hamstring problem and has not yet returned to training.
Manager Arne Slot said: ‘He has not trained with us until now and let’s see if he can today.
‘I have said two or three days ago that he is not going to be out for long but, because games come so fast, he’s in between training with the team or it could take him one or two days extra.’
With Alexander Isak injured and Mohamed Salah still at the Africa Cup of Nations, Ekitike’s absence would be a huge blow to Liverpool’s hopes of a positive result.
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