Arsenal receive another Premier League title boost after Liverpool handed double setback

The Premier League title race has taken another dramatic twist following Liverpool's clash with Aston Villa. Arsenal responded to the Reds drawing against Everton in the Merseyside Derby last week by beating Leicester City courtesy of two late goals from substitute Mikel Merino.

Just over 24 hours later, Arne Slot's side did restore their seven-point gap with a narrow victory over Wolves at Anfield, but there were certainly signs more points will be dropped by the leaders. Liverpool did not actually manage a shot on target in the second half.

The coming weeks will certainly prove decisive in the title race as Liverpool have some challenging fixtures while Arsenal have a favourable run before those roles reverse in March. In the space of just five days, Liverpool face Villa and Manchester City away from home while the Gunners welcome West Ham to Emirates Stadium this Saturday.

The first of those fixtures for Liverpool is already in the books with an enthralling 2-2 draw played out at Villa Park. Mohamed Salah put the visitors in front before Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned the game on its head before half time.

Trent Alexander-Arnold bagged the equaliser with Darwin Nunez missing a great chance to score what would have likely been the winner as he blazed over from close-range. The point picked up leaves Liverpool on 61 with Arsenal on 53, however the latter do now have a game in hand.

That match at home to Chelsea is scheduled for Sunday, March 16 and takes place when Liverpool play in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle. Before then, the Gunners play Nottingham Forest and Manchester United away from home while Liverpool welcome Southampton and Newcastle to Anfield.

Given the fixtures that await, Arsenal will need to secure three points against the Hammers and hope Liverpool drop points against City. While Slot would have been disappointed to not see his side beat Villa, he will also be worried about defender Conor Bradley.

The Northern Ireland international replaced Alexander-Arnold midway through the second half as he returns to full fitness but he was then taken off just 23 minutes later with an injury being replaced by Jarell Quansah for the final minutes. Though not a major blow, Bradley's absence will be far from ideal for Slot especially with Joe Gomez ruled out for the long-term.

If the right-back is to miss a period of time, then it would make Quansah the back-up option at right-back and at centre-back with one more defensive injury possibly meaning disaster for Slot.

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.