Michael Owen and Paul Scholes reckon Liverpool could be the side to challenge give Manchester City for the Premier League this season instead of Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola's side are aiming for their fifth consecutive league title. Over the last two seasons, Arsenal has ran City close but fallen short. So far this term, the defending Premier League champions are off to a flying start with three wins from three, while Liverpool are hot on their heels, separated only by goal difference.
The Reds ran out 3-0 winners against Manchester United on Sunday, with a Luis Diaz brace and a Mohamed Salah second half strike seeing Liverpool past their arch rivals.
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Conversely, Arsenal saw their perfect record ended after drawing with Brighton 1-1, in a game which saw Declan Rice sent off. And after seeing Liverpool dismantle Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, both Owen and Scholes reckon Arne Slot's Reds could be City's biggest rivals this season, reports the Mirror .
"If you ask Pep Guardiola who his biggest danger was it would be a toss-up between Arsenal and Liverpool," Owen told Premier League Productions.
"At the start of the season, he might have said Arsenal because you know what you are going to get same manager, same players plus they have added one or two but there was a little bit of a question about what would happen at Liverpool with the new manager. Is it going to be a totally new style? Are they going to take a while to adapt? All these questions. Of course the one good thing from a Liverpool point of view is they kept the squad."
"There was hardly any outgoings, it was a structured squad and he was walking into a squad that has a lot of players at the peak of their powers. There were questions about Liverpool but after three games you think 'wow it is going to take a special team to stop them'. They have just swatted United aside."
And former United midfielder Scholes was in no mood to disagree with Owen, who also reckons Liverpool could challenge for the Premier League this season.
"They could really challenge for that title this year,' Scholes said. "Before a ball had been kicked I thought it was going to be Arsenal's year to give City a real go and possibly go on to win it. But after watching the first three games, I think Liverpool could go past Arsenal."
Scholes added: "They were up there for a long part of the season last year, they only fell away in the last few games. If they keep that squad together and the majority of that fit, I think that is a team that can challenge City without a shadow of a doubt."
Liverpool.com says: "There's no reason Liverpool can't win the Premier League this season. They spent nearly a third of last season top of the table, slipping away from City and Arsenal after a calamitous April which saw them win just two games from six Premier League fixtures.
"If they want to win the title however, they will have to continue their strong start after the international break. Under Pep Guardiola, the only time City have lost the Premier League was during his first season to Chelsea, and the year Liverpool won the title during the 2019/20 campaign. That season, Liverpool won 26 of their opening 27 games in the Premier League, only dropping points to United at Anfield in a 1-1 draw. It took until February 2020 for them to lose a game when they lost 3-0 to Watford."
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