Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League has been cut down to four points after Arsenal bounced back in the north London derby.

Having endured a week to forget after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United, while also falling to a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, the Gunners’ season was in real danger of running out of gas as it hosted Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

With Liverpool dropping two points against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, Arsenal had the chance to narrow the gap in the title race, although Son Heung-min’s opener threatened to pile more misery onto Mikel Arteta’s side.

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The hosts fought back though, with Dominic Solanke’s own goal and Leandro Trossard’s strike before half-time getting them into the lead, with the Gunners holding on to claim a much-needed three points.

The result means Arsenal now sits just four points off Liverpool with just under half of the season still to go. The Reds do still hold a game in hand on their rivals, but that in itself could end up being a hindrance.

Both Liverpool and Arsenal look set to finish inside the top eight of the Champions League’s opening phase, meaning they will qualify for the last-16 without the need of an extra play-off round. That means two free midweeks during February for both sides’ players to recover from their Premier League endeavors - or at least, it did mean that.

Liverpool has now lost one of those free midweeks after the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, originally meant to have been played back in December, was rescheduled for February 12.

That trip across Stanley Park will come just a few days after the long trip to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. Of course, having been knocked out of that competition, Arsenal will have that weekend free, meaning they will have a stretch of 10 days without a game between the second leg of the semi-final with Newcastle on February 5, and the trip to West Ham in the league on February 15.

You could make the argument that you’d rather have more games in order to build momentum, but considering some of the injuries Arsenal has at the moment, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus among those out, Arteta will almost certainly take the extra time off with open arms.

Having made a less-than-stellar start to 2025, Liverpool needs to rediscover its form in the title race now, and it will have to do so with more games than the Gunners to contend with. Arne Slot’s side has the lead, but the Dutchman is going to have to utilize his squad well if they’re to hold off their nearest challengers.