Arne Slot will have strengthened the legacy of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool should he win the Premier League title, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.
Slot's side defeated Newcastle United 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday night, and the victory was hugely significant given second-placed Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest, and the results extended the Merseysiders' lead at the top of the table to 13 points.
With just 10 games to go for Liverpool, it looks almost certain that Slot will bring home a 20th league title and match previous boss Klopp's number of Premier League trophies, a fact that opposition fans have at times used to downplay the German's achievements at Anfield.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch expressed his belief that winning the league this season would only highlight the incredible work Klopp did to hand over a title-winning team to Slot, saying: "If you get 90 plus points a couple of times and manage not to win it you have just been very unlucky at the end of the day. These attempts to downplay Klopp are nonsense.
"A Premier League title this season would strengthen Klopp's legacy because the selflessness to build this squad and then hand it over to the next guy and give him a perfect foundation to come in - it speaks a lot about Jurgen's character as much as his ability as a football manager. Contrast it to what even legendary figures like Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson left behind - very different scenarios.
"You feel like he's had a big hand in this Premier League title as much as the one that he did win himself and he's very unlucky not to [have won] more, so I don't buy into that narrative that's emerging. As much as this will bolster Klopp's reputation and [be] the start of a great legacy, it also says a lot about Jurgen."
Slot's only summer addition to the team was Federico Chiesa, but he has only featured in three Premier League matches so far, highlighting the strength of squad that the Dutchman inherited from Klopp.
Why Liverpool have effectively won the title
Liverpool's 13-point lead means they need to win seven of their 10 remaining games to confirm their status as champions, with victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in early May being the match in which they could clinch the title.
However, should Arsenal drop points from now until the end of the season, there is every chance that the Reds could win the title against Leicester City or Tottenham Hotspur in late April.
Lynch expressed his opinion that the Merseysiders have no reason to fear that Arsenal will close the gap due to their deficiencies in attack, telling Sports Mole: "I don't think it's arrogance or trying to look too far ahead to say Liverpool have got one hand on the trophy now because it isn't just about them.
"This is an Arsenal side that has struggled for goals this season, has now lost their attack on top of that [and have] no way of rectifying that in the transfer market because that's closed. No other routes to finding goals and they've got some tough games coming up
"They've got to come back to Anfield as well. Any game looks tricky for them now - they come up against the side who is 16th in the Premier League in West Ham, but they've got the ability to soak up pressure from a weakened Arsenal attack and have so much quality on the break, and there are so many more sides in the Premier League who can do that to Arsenal."
The Gunners failed to find the back of the net in their past two league games, and given they have only created the eighth most xG (42.2) in the league while Liverpool have produced the most (61.1), it is difficult to see how Mikel Arteta's side can score enough to keep their small hopes of Premier League glory alive.
© Imago
Liverpool have been the only team in the title race
After 10 matchweeks in the Premier League, Liverpool had collected 25 points from a possible 30 while Arsenal had only collected 18 points.
By matchweek 15, the Reds had collected 41 points compared to the Gunners' tally of 28, and the Reds have maintained a healthy gap to the Londoners for some time.
When asked by Sports Mole to give his view on the state of the title race, Lynch argued that Liverpool have been so strong this term that Arsenal would have struggled to win the title in most seasons, saying: "[Liverpool are a] team that maybe will get lower than 90 points but they're on track for 90 plus at the moment, so that's a good winning total.
"If [Liverpool] do that it's not just about their quality it's about what they're up against. Nottingham Forest are quite far back so you can't count them as in contention, so it's only Arsenal.
"It's going to be very tough for [Arsenal] to pick up anything like a respectable amount of points over the remainder of the campaign, and you wonder whether they get dragged into a top-four race. If [they are] Liverpool's competition, I don't see a world in which [Liverpool] don't go on and lift the title. Look at the the bookmakers odds, any models around expected goals - they all project that Liverpool will win the league."
Arsenal have failed to win more than three consecutive games in the Premier League this campaign, whereas Liverpool are unbeaten in 24 top-flight matches.
Lewis Nolan
