Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool 'shot themselves in the foot' during their 1-0 Premier League defeat to Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday. The former Reds captain also gave his verdict on his old club's title hopes, saying they still have work to do to challenge for the top prize.
Defeat at Anfield
Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game, tapping in from close range after a move that began when Alisson Becker's clearance led to Liverpool losing possession. The result leaves Liverpool in fifth place in the Premier League table.
Liverpool will face Crystal Palace at the weekend in their final match before the November international break. The side, managed by Andoni Iraola, had won their previous two league games against Brentford and Brighton before the Arsenal match, and will look to bounce back when they face Fenerbahce in the Champions League in midweek.
Gerrard's Analysis
Speaking on Monday's episode of The Overlap, Gerrard said: "They [Liverpool] shot themselves in the foot, because there was no need to concede that early goal. But they had the [Alexis] Mac Allister chance to get level, and obviously the penalty incident is big. Alisson makes a save."
He added: "I thought, on the balance of the whole game, 1-0 would have been a fair result, but credit to Arsenal. That's how you win leagues, going to places like Liverpool, being strong, sticking together, and putting in a different type of performance, which was full of grit and fight and togetherness, and they got over the line."
Gerrard also predicted Arsenal could go on to win the league, saying: "And they will know that come the end of the season, if they win the league, which I think they will, I haven't changed my mind from the beginning of the season, they will look back at that more than your four or five-nils where they look fantastic, because I'm sure they will at times."
Title Race Verdict
He continued: "They'll look at that and think, we went to Anfield, tough crowd to play against, tough Liverpool performance, Andoni Iraola's got this Liverpool team playing an awful lot better, Liverpool played well and we managed to get out of there with three points. Could be huge for Arsenal. At this moment in time, nine points behind for Liverpool. So, Liverpool have got work to do if they want to challenge. But this Arsenal team just look as if they can beat teams in different ways. I think that could be the difference."
