Arne Slot's reaction to Arsenal setback in the Premier League title race speaks volumes

Arne Slot offered little away when questioned about the Premier League title race ahead of Liverpool's encounter with Manchester City. Arsenal had missed the chance to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea were the first to take advantage of the result at the Stadium of Light, reducing the Gunners' lead to six points with victory over Wolves just a few hours later. Shortly before the reigning champions faced Man City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening, Slot was asked whether he had kept tabs on the game.

The Reds boss played down any notion that he or his squad had altered their preparations following the match in the North East. Speaking to Sky Sports, Slot said: "I think in general you focus on your own team.

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"After the results we've had in the last one and a half months, it's even more reason to focus on yourself and not on others. So we know the challenge ahead of us.

"City away is one of the most difficult games throughout the whole season, and we prepared for that and we didn't pay more attention than to any other game."

Slot added: "I didn't see the game at all because I was analysing, still, City one more time, for the 250th time probably this week. I heard the result, as I heard the result of all the other games played in the Premier League yesterday as well."

The Liverpool boss was also asked whether he would deploy a similar plan to the one he used against Real Madrid, with Man City expected to play Erling Haaland in behind.

Liverpool managed to keep the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham at bay during their 1-0 victory against Los Blancos in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

Slot said: "There is a similarity. If you look at them, both number nines – Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland – both of them are incredibly fast. Both of them scoring most goals for their team.

"But, you cannot compare Real Madrid to Manchester City. In my opinion, both very, very, very good teams, but a manager that worked with a team for 10 years, not with all the same players, but worked here so long or a manager that's only worked with a team three or four months.

"That's of course the difference. So, I have to agree with you. If you look at the pace of both number nines – Mbappe and Haaland – I see a lot of similarities."