Dominik Szoboszlai has insisted Arsenal haven’t won the Premier League yet, and it’s the home side who will be facing the champions on Thursday night.
Ahead of Arsenal’s match against Liverpool on Thursday night, there’s a lot of excitement in the fanbase of the home supporters that this might finally be their year.
After over two decades without a Premier League title, Arsenal have the chance to go eight points clear at the top of the table with a win in their game in hand.
Yet standing in their way are the current Premier League champions Liverpool, one of just two teams to beat the Gunners in a match this season.
So when Dominik Szoboszlai was asked whether he would be visiting the home of the future Premier League champions on Thursday, the midfielder responded that it’s Arsenal playing the champions, not Liverpool.
“It’s a long way, huh? The Premier League is not easy. You don’t win it by January,” Szoboszlai said. “So I don’t think we are playing against the champions. They play against the champions.
“Of course, they are one of the favourites for this year. Unbelievable team. Really good players. But we shouldn’t also forget about City, about Villa, who is doing very good.
“No, we don’t play against the champions. They play against the champions.”
It’s a fair comment, though most sensible Arsenal fans are already well aware that there’s a long way to go until their team has a chance to win anything.
In another life, perhaps Szoboszlai himself would be helping Arsenal to try and win the title, with the Gunners putting in groundwork to sign the player in 2020.
James Benge reports for CBS Sports that the Arsenal recruitment team were keen that summer, and Szoboszlai was intrigued by the move. But Edu Gaspar preferred Willian, and the move for Szoboszlai never came about.
Given Szoboszlai scored the winner against Arsenal at Anfield earlier this season, there’s more than one reason to regret that decision. Mikel Arteta’s side will look to avoid adding another reason to the list on Thursday.