Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane agree on real winner after Arsenal beat Liverpool
It might have been Arsenal who came out on top in Sunday's top-of-the-table clash with Liverpool, but Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane felt rivals Manchester City were the big winners from the afternoon's action.
Arsenal and Liverpool drew 1-1 at Anfield in December, and the scoreline was the same at the break at the Emirates Stadium in a highly-anticipated rematch. Mikel Arteta's side had the bulk of the early chances and took the lead through Bukayo Saka, but a defensive mix-up on the stroke of half-time saw Gunners defender Gabriel turn the ball into his own net.
Midway through the second half, it was Liverpool's turn to gift their opponents a goal when Virgil van Dijk and Alisson fluffed their lines to present Gabriel Martinelli with a tap-in. The visitors then saw Ibrahima Konate sent off for a second booking, with Leandro Trossard wrapping up victory for Arsenal in stoppage-time.
Defeat for Liverpool saw them allow their opponents to close the gap to two points. City can also move within two of Jurgen Klopp's side if they beat Brentford on Monday night, and the result in North London was seen as a positive for the defending champions.
"That relief at the end from [Mikel Arteta], from the players was evident but to me, that’s the best possible result for Manchester City as well - it could be a better result for them than Arsenal!" Carragher said on Sky Sports.
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"I think Man City will be looking at Liverpool as the bigger threat to their title because they have players that have done it before, they’ve been there before competing. Tonight I think the biggest winners are Man City."
"I agree, I can’t see either of those two teams out there tonight finishing ahead of Man City," Keane said in reply. "Listen, I’ve been proven wrong before but you look where City are with [Kevin] De Bruyne coming back and [Erling] Haaland now available, I don’t see those two teams going right to the end keeping up with Man City."
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Manchester City can call upon Erling Haaland once more (AFP via Getty Images)City lost their grip on top spot in the league in November during a run of four games without a win, dropping as low as fourth in early December. Four wins on the spin have put them back in the mix, though, and another victory against Brentford on Monday would close the gap furher still.
"What's important is that we're there,” Guardiola said after the midweek victory over Burnley. "In the first part of the season there were a lot of games, but now we're counting down and we know we can't drop points, with the quality that Arsenal and Liverpool have.
"So one game at a time and we will see what happens. I would say the mentality is there. I don't have any doubts about it. But if we lose a game, maybe people say we don't have the right mentality, like I heard this season. It's not that. My feeling is that we're there and this is really nice after where we've come from."
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