Arsenal legend delivers Liverpool Premier League title prediction as key 2025-26 'difference' highlighted

Arsenal's 2025-26 Premier League title charge will be "different" to their underwhelming performance in 2024-25, and Liverpool will not 'run away' with the crown this year, a club legend has claimed.

Mikel Arteta's men head to Newcastle United for Sunday's top-flight showdown, where they could find themselves a whopping eight points below Liverpool in the Premier League table ahead of kickoff if the champions can overcome Crystal Palace on Saturday.

After six gameweeks in the 2024-25 top-flight season, Arsenal were just one point adrift of Arne Slot's side, who ended up winning the crown by a sizeable margin of 10 points as they claimed 84 to the Gunners' 74 when all was said and done.

However, in an exclusive interview with Sports Mole, Ray Parlour - a three-time Premier League winner with Arsenal - claimed that the 2025-26 season will be "different" for his former side thanks to their enviable squad depth.

"It’s just five games in, and I think Arsenal have a much improved squad this year to cope with the Premier League, Champions League and cup competitions," Parlour said.

Why 2025-26 Premier League will be "different" for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal

"It’s not ideal to already have a five-point gap, but this season is different compared to last given the strength in depth Arsenal have. I am sure Liverpool will drop points and Arsenal need to be ready to close the gap when they do."

Arsenal's stretched squad struggled to cope in the wake of injuries to crucial players last season, where Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Ben White were among those to miss a good chunk of the campaign.

The Gunners have already been hit by issues to the likes of Saka, Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke this time around too, but a record £250m outlay in the summer transfer window means that Arteta has the resources to cope with such shortages.

Arsenal recorded the highest net spend in the summer transfer window just gone, but their spending alone was dwarfed by Liverpool's £400m+ cash-splashing spree, as the Reds broke their incoming record twice on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

However, while Arne Slot's side have a perfect 15 points from 15, four of their five wins have been by just one goal, and they were not leading until the final 10 minutes in clashes with Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Arsenal and Burnley.

Parlour: 'Liverpool will not run away with Premier League title'

As a result, Parlour has predicted that Liverpool will not run away with the Premier League title as he implored Arsenal to claim an increasingly rare positive result away to Newcastle on Sunday.

"Liverpool haven’t hit the ground running, so let’s see if they do as Arsenal will look to make sure they put the pressure on as much as they can," Parlour added.

"I can’t see Liverpool running away with it this year given Arsenal’s quality, so it’s important Arsenal get a good result against Newcastle, before a run of games they should win."

Arsenal overcame Newcastle 3-2 in a pre-season friendly after a 1-0 home Premier League win in May 2025, but they have been defeated in each of their last three at St James' Park without scoring a single goal.

Arteta will still be missing Madueke, Havertz, Jesus and Piero Hincapie for the trip to the Magpies, but the Spaniard was able to deliver a positive update on Odegaard's shoulder injury in his pre-game press conference.

Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Online Casino.