Arne Slot: ‘Constant battle’ has left Liverpool unable to catch Arsenal and City

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot admits Arsenal and Manchester City are not in their sights as the “constant battle” the defending champions have endured in the first half of the season has taken its toll.

The Gunners are 12 points ahead and City eight after Liverpool missed the chance to move within four of third-placed Aston Villa following their first goalless draw in over two years at home to Leeds.

At the mid-point of the campaign, Slot, whose side have come through a dreadful run of nine defeats in 12 matches in October and November, said Villa are the only club they can think about targeting currently.

“Realistically those two teams are quite far away from us and we should not look at those two at this moment in time,” he said.

“We have had our struggles throughout. Now we have been seven (league) games in a row unbeaten but if you say this you feel like, ‘they are flying through the league’, but that is not what we are doing.

“Every single game we play it’s hard work. We are mainly the team that is probably better than the other team but not enough.

“I will keep pushing and the players will keep pushing to get to a situation where we can make the difference bigger and hopefully we can find a moment where we can fly through the season.

“But for the first 19 games it has been a constant battle, close to each other, sometimes a bit lucky, sometimes a bit unlucky.”

Four wins and three draws in the league since that terrible run has left Liverpool in fourth – three points clear of Chelsea, whose own slump has seen them part ways with boss Enzo Maresca, and Manchester United.

With British record signing Alexander Isak sidelined for at least two months following ankle surgery and a fractured fibula and Mohamed Salah still at the Africa Cup of Nations there remains optimism the improvement can continue in the second half of the campaign.

To do that Liverpool will have to avoid performances like the one against Leeds which was devoid of chances but Slot felt fourth place was a fair reflection of their season so far.

“Yeah, although the margins are small so that could have influenced us having three, four, five, six more points maybe,” he added ahead of Sunday’s trip to Fulham.

“But from open play, from where we are, when I look at Arsenal, I look at City and I look at us, it’s fair that we are not above them.

“That we are so many points behind them, there are reasons for that but it wouldn’t be fair if we were above them for the way we have played.

“I think it is clear and obvious that we hardly concede chances any more… but for me it is also clear and obvious that we find it quite hard to generate enough chances for all the ball possession we have and that is not new for us this season.”