Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool and Arsenal are heading into an "especially significant" day in the Premier League title race on Saturday and says major questions will be asked of Mikel Arteta if the Gunners lose out to Arne Slot's side this season. The Reds saw their seven-point advantage at the summit reduced to four on Wednesday night after Arsenal beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 around 24 hours after the league leaders were held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool travel to Brentford for Saturday's 3pm kick-off before Arsenal host Aston Villa in the evening fixture and Carragher thinks the results could go a long way toward deciding the outcome at the end of the campaign. The 2005 Champions League winner, however, used his Telegraph column to highlight why questions may be asked of Arteta should they lose out to the current leaders.

"This weekend feels especially significant for Liverpool and Arsenal," Carragher writes. "Liverpool kick off first, a successive away game raising the possibility of their lead reducing further as Arsenal await the outcome before playing Villa.

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"Arne Slot has already missed opportunities to sap the confidence of his rivals because of the draws against Manchester United, especially, and then Nottingham Forest. A nine-point Liverpool lead in December is currently a less-intimidating four points, albeit with a game in hand, with Arsenal’s supporters caught between a sense of frustration and enduring belief."

Carragher adds: "Liverpool being top under a new manager is not following the presumed script. The longer that remains the case, the more questions will be asked about how and why Liverpool have gone past Arsenal.

"Even accounting for injuries to key players, if Arsenal finish behind a side that just lost its legendary manager and is yet to make a significant signing since falling away in 2023-24, the review of the season will not be favourable.

"As anyone who has played the game will tell you, when judgments are made there is always a fine line between mitigating circumstances and excuses. History does not remember the latter.

"Liverpool’s injury situation last season was horrendous - by far the worst of the title challengers - but the general and fair conclusion is they finished third behind two superior teams, not that it might have been different had Alisson Becker or Diogo Jota played more games, or if Mohamed Salah had not returned from the Africa Cup of Nations with a hamstring issue.

"Arsenal’s injuries have caused inconsistency, but in previous seasons they had better fortune than others as their stars were rarely absent. Arsenal have taken significant strides every year since Arteta became manager.

"They have improved their points tally in four successive Premier League seasons and are aiming to become the first team to do so for a fifth. To continue that run they need 90 points this time.

"To put that into perspective, Arsenal require 15 wins and two draws from their remaining 17 fixtures to reach that target. The bad news for them is I do not see them doing so. The good news is Arsenal may not need that much to be champions. Even so, they are dicing with danger by hoping a backward step will precede making that giant final leap from second to first."