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"title": "Title glory within reach: Liverpool's stellar season puts Arsenal's ambitions to the test",
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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liverpool have run this season’s English Premier League race with the precision, poise and pace of long-distance running great </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-09-27-kipchoges-world-record-edges-closer-to-the-competitive-two-hour-mark/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eliud Kipchoge</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, leaving their rivals gasping for air as they attempt to catch up to the runaway league leaders.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arne Slot’s Reds vanquished Newcastle United 2-0 in their most recent outing, while second-placed Arsenal dropped more points following a 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest. This was the second successive game in which the Gunners had failed to collect maximum points, following their 1-0 defeat to West Ham. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The latest results mean that the gap between the Gunners and the Reds is now 13 points. Although Arsenal have a match in hand, it would take a capitulation of astronomical proportions for the Londoners to topple Liverpool. </span>\r\n<h4><b>Mission impossible</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Reds would have to lose multiple matches, and Arsenal win almost all their remaining ones, for that to happen. Slot’s side has suffered just a single loss in 28 league outings this season, so the odds of them collapsing so emphatically as to allow a comeback from the Gunners is highly unlikely. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side should not throw in the towel just yet. It’s a logical approach as a loss of self-belief has the potential to see the Gunners slump even further and potentially not even cling on to second place, with Forest and soon-to-be-dethroned English champions Manchester City lurking in the shadows. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We’re not going to stop (fighting for first place). Over my dead body,” Arteta said before the clash with Forest. “The reality is, there’s so many games to play. And you have to get back to it. And we have the levels, the consistency and the hunger to go again.”</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2609172\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2201698676.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1762\" height=\"1073\" /> <em>Liverpool manager Arne Slot. (Photo: James Gill-Danehouse / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2609167\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2202179514.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1839\" height=\"1114\" /> <em>Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2609169\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2200038703.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1738\" height=\"1159\" /> <em>Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool keeps Goncalo Guedes of Wolverhampton Wanderers at bay during their Premier League match at Anfield on 16 February 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo: Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his post-match analysis after the draw with Forest, Arteta hinted that despite Liverpool doing well, Arsenal also had to look internally for where they currently found themselves. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“It’s about what we can do, and it was like this a week ago, two weeks before, three months ago. That’s the only thing that we can control if we want to have a chance to do anything,” Arteta said. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Arsenal finished as runners-up to City over the previous two seasons, it was said that they were a side that </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-17-arsenals-slide-from-champions-in-waiting-to-second-best/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">still had to mature</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They had a young manager and young players; they were trusting the process. After all, a garden does not grow overnight. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When City started faltering at the beginning of this season, many soccer followers viewed their stuttering start as an opportunity for Arsenal to finally come of age. However, the Gunners are once again set to be the bridesmaids, as they continue to wait for their first Premier League title since 2004.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Instant impact</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the way Liverpool have played this season, you would think Slot is the one with Premier League experience. However, it is Arteta who played in the English top flight for a number of years and also served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant coach at City before his move to Arsenal in December 2019. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, Slot’s predecessor at Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp, left a solid foundation for the Dutchman to build upon. Nonetheless, Slot still had to impart his ideas to the players, and they had to adjust hastily after listening to Klopp’s voice for nine years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Slot said even he was surprised by how well he had done in his maiden Premier League season, as he did not envision winning the league.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“No one saw us as title contenders when we started in the beginning of the season, and no one in the world of football expected City not to be so close to the one that leads the league if they are not the one that leads the league,” said Slot. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If his team pushes on to overall victory in the league, Slot would become just the fifth Premier League manager to win the title in his first season. He would join José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte (all Chelsea), and former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini. The finish line is within sight for this historic achievement. </span><b>DM </b>\r\n\r\n ",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liverpool have run this season’s English Premier League race with the precision, poise and pace of long-distance running great </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-09-27-kipchoges-world-record-edges-closer-to-the-competitive-two-hour-mark/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eliud Kipchoge</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, leaving their rivals gasping for air as they attempt to catch up to the runaway league leaders.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arne Slot’s Reds vanquished Newcastle United 2-0 in their most recent outing, while second-placed Arsenal dropped more points following a 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest. This was the second successive game in which the Gunners had failed to collect maximum points, following their 1-0 defeat to West Ham. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The latest results mean that the gap between the Gunners and the Reds is now 13 points. Although Arsenal have a match in hand, it would take a capitulation of astronomical proportions for the Londoners to topple Liverpool. </span>\r\n<h4><b>Mission impossible</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Reds would have to lose multiple matches, and Arsenal win almost all their remaining ones, for that to happen. Slot’s side has suffered just a single loss in 28 league outings this season, so the odds of them collapsing so emphatically as to allow a comeback from the Gunners is highly unlikely. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side should not throw in the towel just yet. It’s a logical approach as a loss of self-belief has the potential to see the Gunners slump even further and potentially not even cling on to second place, with Forest and soon-to-be-dethroned English champions Manchester City lurking in the shadows. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We’re not going to stop (fighting for first place). Over my dead body,” Arteta said before the clash with Forest. “The reality is, there’s so many games to play. And you have to get back to it. And we have the levels, the consistency and the hunger to go again.”</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2609172\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1762\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2609172\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2201698676.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1762\" height=\"1073\" /> <em>Liverpool manager Arne Slot. (Photo: James Gill-Danehouse / Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2609167\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1839\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2609167\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2202179514.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1839\" height=\"1114\" /> <em>Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2609169\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1738\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2609169\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2200038703.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1738\" height=\"1159\" /> <em>Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool keeps Goncalo Guedes of Wolverhampton Wanderers at bay during their Premier League match at Anfield on 16 February 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo: Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his post-match analysis after the draw with Forest, Arteta hinted that despite Liverpool doing well, Arsenal also had to look internally for where they currently found themselves. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“It’s about what we can do, and it was like this a week ago, two weeks before, three months ago. That’s the only thing that we can control if we want to have a chance to do anything,” Arteta said. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Arsenal finished as runners-up to City over the previous two seasons, it was said that they were a side that </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-17-arsenals-slide-from-champions-in-waiting-to-second-best/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">still had to mature</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They had a young manager and young players; they were trusting the process. After all, a garden does not grow overnight. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When City started faltering at the beginning of this season, many soccer followers viewed their stuttering start as an opportunity for Arsenal to finally come of age. However, the Gunners are once again set to be the bridesmaids, as they continue to wait for their first Premier League title since 2004.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Instant impact</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the way Liverpool have played this season, you would think Slot is the one with Premier League experience. However, it is Arteta who played in the English top flight for a number of years and also served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant coach at City before his move to Arsenal in December 2019. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, Slot’s predecessor at Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp, left a solid foundation for the Dutchman to build upon. Nonetheless, Slot still had to impart his ideas to the players, and they had to adjust hastily after listening to Klopp’s voice for nine years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Slot said even he was surprised by how well he had done in his maiden Premier League season, as he did not envision winning the league.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“No one saw us as title contenders when we started in the beginning of the season, and no one in the world of football expected City not to be so close to the one that leads the league if they are not the one that leads the league,” said Slot. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If his team pushes on to overall victory in the league, Slot would become just the fifth Premier League manager to win the title in his first season. He would join José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte (all Chelsea), and former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini. The finish line is within sight for this historic achievement. </span><b>DM </b>\r\n\r\n ",
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Liverpool manager Arne Slot. (Photo: James Gill-Danehouse / Getty Images)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)
Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool keeps Goncalo Guedes of Wolverhampton Wanderers at bay during their Premier League match at Anfield on 16 February 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo: Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images)