Liverpool take on Arsenal on Saturday in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash that gives the Reds a chance to steal a march on title challengers Manchester City

The battle to be Christmas number one hasn’t been this engrossing in years. But when Liverpool and Arsenal jostle for the top slot on Saturday evening, the spectre of those who won’t be at the Premier League party this festive period will loom large.

“We all know what Manchester City are like,” says Reds vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold. “In a couple of weeks they will probably click into gear and win every game until the end of the season. So we know that is coming as usual.

“For us it is about being in and around it, getting in a good position like we are now and staying as close as possible; get through the festive period, get through January and head into the next international break still in a title race. It is hard to see a finish line right now. We are creeping towards halfway in the season.

“Arsenal and City kind of ran away this time last season. No-one else could keep up the pace. Our sights going into this season were to be in and around. So far we have done that. This weekend is a big one.”

Indeed, with City otherwise disposed in Saudi Arabia, Liverpool will hope to steal a march on the champions and regain their place at the top-flight summit with victory over the Gunners at what is likely to be a bouncing Anfield under the lights.

Statistics give credence to the belief this is one of the most open title races in years. Going into the latest round of matches, only six points separated the top five teams, and in 30 previous Premier League campaigns, only three times – in 1996/97, 2013/14 and 2020/21 – has such a gap been smaller. Liverpool were among the top five on each of those occasions but failed to win the title.

Progress this term, though, is perhaps ahead of schedule for Jurgen Klopp’s evolving side. At this stage last season, Liverpool were 16 points off leaders Arsenal. Now it’s only one.

Of course, Alexander-Arnold is one of a core group of players in the squad who know not only what it’s like to challenge City over the entirety of a campaign, but also to beat them to the crown as Liverpool did back in 2020.

“I think as hard as it is – and it is very hard – you can’t get too emotional, too excited and too down about results,” he says. “Games come thick and fast. You can flip again like that (clicks fingers). A bad result one week may not cost you because the teams around can drop points. Just focus on yourselves. That is the main thing we have learned during the time (in these races).

“As long as we are winning our games, it doesn’t really matter what the other teams are doing. Everyone will drop points between now and the end of the season and we just have to make sure we are in the right position and drop the least.”

Certainly, the dreary home goalless draw against Manchester United last weekend that knocked Liverpool off the top was a reminder of that, especially as City had drawn 2-2 at home to Crystal Palace the previous day. It meant Arsenal, 2-0 victors over Brighton, regained the lead, a position they held for much of last season before slumping in the face of relentless pressure from Pep Guardiola’s side.

Alexander-Arnold agrees the Gunners are now attempting to replicate Liverpool in making the final step from contenders to champions. “100%,” he says. “They are a young, exciting team who last year probably lacked experience winning, more than anything. That’s quite similar to what we were in that season when we were nipped to it by City by one point.

“Those experiences teach you a lot. It teaches you how to win. Arsenal will have learned from the games when they dropped points at the end of last season. They deserve to be near the top. So do we. It will be an exciting game.”

Declan Rice, Alexander-Arnold’s England team-mate, has made a positive difference following his £100million arrival from West Ham United in the summer. “Definitely,” says the Liverpool man. “Whether it is him or how they adapted, I feel they have gone up a level this season. They’re very consistent and they are winning in a controlled manner. It is different to how we are winning a lot of games. A couple of our games have been last minute, or down to 10 men, winning in different ways.

“It feels like they are winning in a different way. He has been a big part of that. I have shared the pitch with him with England and know what he offers and brings to a team. You can see it in how he plays; breaking up the play, getting the team up the pitch and a lot of the dirty work. He is also very confident on the ball.”

It’s not just all about Liverpool, Arsenal and City, though. Tottenham have overcome a wobble to drag themselves back into contention, while Aston Villa’s superb home form has been the bedrock of their ongoing challenge.

“It is rare for a team to come out of the blue and win the league,” admits Alexander-Arnold. “Usually you can see them coming. But we have seen before that anything can happen and Villa deserve to be up there with the way they have been playing. Of those at the top, different teams have different qualities.”

Liverpool haven’t lost a Premier League game at home to Arsenal in approaching 12 years, and came from 2-0 down to earn a point in April when Roberto Firmino headed in Alexander-Arnold’s cross for a dramatic late equaliser. It was the first time the England man had been employed in a hybrid role at right-back, a tactical tweak after which Klopp’s side have lost only once in the top flight – the VAR-infected 2-1 reverse at Tottenham in September.

“As a team we have shown incredible consistency, winning games in different ways,” says Alexander-Arnold. “It has had a positive impact on all of us – me especially – and I am sure it will evolve and adapt over time. We’ve just got to keep it going.

“Initially when the manager and (Liverpool assistant manager) Pep (Lijnders) talked to me about it, it was something I was excited about. I had obviously seen other teams doing it and then to be asked to do it when we had possession, it was something that I thought would challenge me as a footballer. That was what it first felt like and as it progressed, it is something I have massively enjoyed.

“The team has adapted to it. I think a lot of focus goes on to me and it is kind of painted as the system is because of me and I am the biggest change just because I shift there, but technically everyone shifts round. The back three then shifts around, the two 8s then push up and the wingers kind of drop a little bit deeper, so everyone moves – it is not just about me.

“We have built on it and worked very hard as a team in pre-season and then we have continued to grow and grow. We have had a lot of changes but the system is working and you can see that even when I have not been in the team. When I was injured briefly in September we still continued to do it with Joe (Gomez), and Conor Bradley does it really well as we saw in pre-season before he got his injury. It works overall. It is more about a system rather than who plays in there.”

Alexander-Arnold adds: “It has changed and it has evolved over time. Some games you will see I am not in the middle as much, some games I am in there all the time.

“Thinking back to the Villa game in September when we won 3-0, that game I was very deep. I came right out of the block and I was in the backline and getting the ball there and they were not able to get too much pressure on me and I was able to find balls in behind and we had some joy that way. You can see from how well they are doing in the league how difficult it is to break them down. That is an example of when I was asked to do something differently and we adapt in a different way.”

Saturday evening, then, is the perfect time to assess the progress of both Alexander-Arnold and new-look Liverpool over the last eight months.