Mikel Arteta makes HILARIOUS Liverpool excuse

Liverpool once again find themselves in a Premier League title race, however it is not against Manchester City this time round.

Arsenal and Nottingham Forest are the two sides hot on the Reds’ tail, but Arne Slot’s side boast a six-point lead with a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

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Liverpool seemed to be suffering a dip in form, and for 90 minutes against Brentford on Saturday it looked like that rut might continue, but substitute Darwin Nunez was able to rescue three points for the Reds after scoring a brace in injury time.

Arsenal however were not able to hold the gap to four points, letting a two-goal lead slip to only draw with Aston Villa at the Emirates, and Arteta made some laughable excuses at full-time.

Arteta’s sorry excuses

Following his side’s collapse against Villa, Arteta was quizzed about the now extended gap to Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Spaniard was quick to blame his lack of squad depth for the disappointing result, highlighting that it was Liverpool’s substitutes that had won the match for the Reds.

The comparison of the two side’s squad depth is hilarious when you consider that Arsenal’s net spend is twice as large as Liverpool’s in the last five seasons.

As per Football Transfers, Arteta’s side have a net spend of €539.9 million since the start of the 2020/21 season compared to Liverpool’s net spend of just €257.9 million.

Does Arteta have a point?

Arsenal are a side currently hampered by injury, but Liverpool haven’t been without injuries this season, with Ibrahima Konate, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota just a handful of the players who have spent time on the sideline.

Liverpool also only added one player, Federico Chiesa, to the squad last summer whilst Arsenal made two additions and made David Raya’s loan move permanent.

This is noteworthy because Arsenal finished seven points ahead of the Reds last campaign, strengthened more in the summer, and still find themselves six points adrift having played a game more.

Arteta’s attempt to deflect blame away from his players after such a shocking collapse is admirable, but Arsenal will have to improve if they want to catch Slot’s side.

The run-in won’t be easy for Liverpool, but they are definitely in a good position, and silverware could be on the cards in Arne Slot’s maiden season in charge.

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