Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal can challenge Liverpool for the Premier League, so long as they get into gear – and fast. The Gunners currently trail Liverpool in the title race by six points and, while Mikel Arteta will be eager to narrow the gap, Arne Slot's side have a game in hand.

While they may have established a considerable lead, Arsenal have the chance to take three points from Liverpool at Anfield. The Merseyside outfit will host the north Londoners towards the back end of the season, in what could be a title-defining clash.

Until then, Arsenal can only hope that Liverpool stumble and take their eyes off the prize. Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show, Carragher assessed the Gunners' title hopes, noting their brilliant run last term.

READ MORE: Latest Arsenal injury news with Kai Havertz update amid Ethan Nwaneri concern

READ MORE: Arsenal forced into early January transfer decision amid fresh update on Mikel Arteta option

When asked if Arteta's side are contenders, the former Reds defender said: "Right now from what I’ve seen, no. But, what I would say is there was a big improvement from Arsenal at a similar stage to this last season.

"The second half of the season I think they played 18 games, won 16 of them, drew one and lost one. I think they’d have to go on a similar sort of run. They’ve shown that they’re capable but they need to get their season up and running pretty quickly.

"It was a little bonus for them what happened at Anfield yesterday because I think there would have been a huge lack of belief if Liverpool were eight points clear with that game in hand. I think they need to improve."

Carragher added: "At the moment it’s not really the points difference, they’re not playing like champions right now so that needs to change eventually. I think it will because they’re a top team, it’s just whether they’ve given themselves too much to do.

"If Liverpool do win that game in hand - and by the time you get to the game in hand in a month’s time against Everton, who knows what the points difference will be - they’ve not been as good as what they were last year or the year before. But, they’ve got it in ’em."

Speaking to reporters after Arsenal's disappointing draw to Brighton at the weekend, Arteta was quizzed on the title race. The Spaniard replied: "We wanted to win and we weren’t able to do that. But we’ll try to improve and prepare for our next game."

Then, in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Arteta attributed the Gunners' hiccup to the congested fixture schedule. He said: "When you are playing every three days, or less than that, you cannot, with the amount of injuries and situations, maintain the level of performance and competitiveness.

"Today we lacked it in the second half. But today was not about fatigue. It was about the simple things that we have to do in possession, to give chances and dominate the game in the right areas."