Peter Schmeichel has claimed he is unconvinced any Premier League side can seriously challenge Arsenal following the Gunners' 1-0 victory over Liverpool. Kai Havertz scored the only goal at Anfield, moving Mikel Arteta's team three points clear at the top of the table after Manchester City slipped up against Brighton.
Arsenal's winning run
Arsenal had lost to Brighton in September but have since won their last four matches, taking maximum points and conceding just one goal. Sunday's win was their first at Anfield since 2012, and they will face Hull at home in their next league fixture.
Before that, the reigning English champions travel to Slavia Prague in midweek, with Arteta keen for his squad to return from the Czech Republic without injury.
Match statistics and Schmeichel's verdict
Liverpool, managed by Andoni Iraola, had more than 56 per cent of the possession and took 17 shots to Arsenal's ten, though none of their efforts were on target. Arsenal, however, won the match, a result that left Schmeichel more confident about their title defence.
Speaking on Viaplay, Schmeichel said: "That performance, to come here to Anfield and win 1-0, I don't care about the manner. We can discuss that and we've done that for two years now. Now they are winners and I can't see anyone, with that squad and what he has available to him, Arteta, who can challenge this team."
Praise for Madueke
Schmeichel also praised Noni Madueke, crediting Arteta with turning the winger from a "talent" into a "fantastic football player." He recalled Madueke's time at Chelsea, saying: "Remember when he was at Chelsea, we sat there right behind the bench, he got substituted in one of the games we covered. We all spoke about his behaviour afterwards… you never become a great player when you behave like that. Now, what we've just seen in the game [against Liverpool], it's great manager work. He's produced a fantastic football player out of a great talent that we always thought was just going to be a talent."
Former Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg also praised Madueke, backing the England international to play a "very important" role for the club. Ljungberg, a member of Arsene Wenger's Invincibles squad, said: "He's a top talent. He's different to Bukayo [Saka]. Bukayo is more of a solid player, would you call it that? He stands and makes the right decisions, angles, shots, knows what he's doing. Madueke is a bit more: one against one and I'm going. Rapid, more direct and sometimes we criticise him, maybe, for his defensive effort. Is he at the right angle? Is he protecting the centre? What is he doing defensively? And he switches off. But he did not do that against Liverpool. It was a very mature performance from him because that's what we sometimes say, "Don't switch off!", and he didn't. He did really well and he's going to be very important."
