Arsene Wenger gave Arsenal a 20 per cent chance of winning the Premier League title as Liverpool ran out convincing 2-0 victors over Manchester City.
The Gunners’ hopes of lifting the trophy took a major dent earlier in the weekend as Jarrod Bowen inspired West Ham to deserved 1-0 win in front of a shellshocked Emirates crowd.
The result – the Hammers’ first victory in five games – left Arsenal eight points adrift of top-of-the-table Liverpool and City’s latest setback at the Etihad saw that lead increase to 11.
Mohamed Salah was once again the star of the show for the Reds, opening the scoring in the 14th minute before assisting Dominik Szoboszlai for the visitors’ second towards the end of the first half.
Arne Slot’s men never looked like relinquishing their lead against the champions and Curtis Jones appeared to have made it three midway through the second period, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
Salah and Co will look to tighten their grip on top spot on Wednesday evening when they play host to Newcastle in what promises to be an intriguing contest at Anfield.
Speaking at half-time during Liverpool’s win over City, ex-Arsenal manager Wenger told beIN SPORTS: ‘If Liverpool win today then you could say it’s 80 per cent. You have to keep hope!’
On giving Arsenal a 20 per cent chance, Wenger replied: ‘Maybe I’m being generous.
‘But with 11 games to go, 11 points ahead and one more game played, of course, you would be surprised.
‘If Liverpool win today they’ve lost only game since the start of the season and you wouldn’t think they would lose four games in the last 11.’
During a recent interview with Goal, Wenger picked out Liverpool’s talisman Salah as his favourite player to watch in world football.
And after Salah netted his 30th goal of the season in the Reds’ win at City, Wenger showered the ‘exceptional’ Egyptian with yet more praise.
‘You wouldn’t rule him out [of winning the Ballon d’Or,’ the former Arsenal boss said.
‘You have [Kylian] Mbappe who will certainly fight with him, Vinicius Junior will fight with him.
‘I read that he contributed with his goals and assists, 38 together, to 31 points of Liverpool this season so you cannot rile him out of any special award.
‘This guy is exceptional and what I’ve loved the most in his career is that he became better and better every year.
‘More clinical, he does less quantity today, but he doesn’t lose in quality and that shows that he’s not only a great talent but a very intelligent player.’