New left-back SAVES Liverpool’s Premier League title dreams

Liverpool had been floundering a little in the Premier League over the last few weeks.

Dropped points to Everton and Aston Villa had sandwiched a mediocre win against Wolves at Anfield in the Reds' last three games. It was clear that the team were on the ropes a little bit.

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In addition, while fellow title challengers Arsenal had been plagued with further injuries during their trip to Dubai - Kai Havertz was ruled out for the rest of the season alongside Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka's ongoing absences - the Gunners were still finding ways to win.

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Arteta had manufactured a 15-game unbeaten streak - 10 wins and five draws - which spanned back to Newcastle at the start of November. The Reds' eight point lead was at risk of falling to five points, with a game against Manchester City set to take place tomorrow.

But Arsenal eventually collapsed in a heap, losing 1-0 to West Ham at the Emirates this afternoon to solidify the believe that they are really title pretenders rather than challengers.

And one of the masterminds of the Hammers' remarkable performance was a young left-back, who could simultaneously be the key to solving Liverpool's defensive problems for good.

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Liverpool are in need of a left-back with Andy Robertson showing signs of wear and tear after eight years at the club and how else to announce yourself as a candidate to replace him than to help mastermind an Arsenal loss.

Oliver Scarles - a 19-year-old who made his first Premier League start this afternoon for West Ham - was charged with play at left-back against Arsenal, and the display he put up was truly remarkable.

Across the 90 minutes, he had seven interceptions, six tackles and won seven out of his 10 duels.

Regardless of how famished the Gunners' attack might have been, the pressure on Scarles to perform at the Emirates must have been enormous and his manager Graham Potter should be incredibly proud of his efforts.

Of course, Liverpool have not been officially linked with him and this one performance is hardly enough to judge him off, so he'll instead be a player worth keeping an eye on.

The Reds have been assessing a number of left-back targets this season in hope of securing one in the summer transfer window, but if Scarles continues to perform like he did today - in a similar vein to Liverpool's primary target Milos Kerkez - then he will become a highly rated prospect sooner rather than later.

For now, his services to Liverpool can be saluted as the Reds now sit eight points clear of Arsenal with both teams having played the same number of games.

Arne Slot and the team will travel to Manchester tomorrow for a box office clash at the Etihad against City and with the knowledge that Arsenal have faltered today, the task of securing a win might just become that little bit easier.

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Especially with the knowledge that a potential loss might fail to be punished by Arsenal next week when the Gunners travel to play Nottingham Forest away from home.

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