Andoni Iraola has said it is “too early” to say whether Liverpool will be in a title race this season after club legend Jamie Carragher suggested they could be Arsenal’s closest challengers.
Writing in The Telegraph this week, Carragher said Liverpool have been going “under the radar” this term and could announce themselves as title challengers with a win against Arsenal on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side are second in the Premier League table behind Manchester City, but Liverpool could close the gap on the champions to three points with a victory at Anfield.
“I think it is too early to start looking at the standings,” Iraola said in his pre-match news conference.
“It is about preparing ourselves for a very difficult game. We know Arsenal and how good they are. They have very good players, working a lot in synchronicity, and we have to be ready for that challenge.
“It’s going to be a demanding game but we also trust our players, trust ourselves and in the good atmosphere we will for sure have on Sunday, I hope we will be at level to win this game.
“Like I said before, it is still October. We have to take one game at a time and I always say the reference is more or less when we’ve played against each other once so halfway through the season. That’s when you can start to look at the standings. Right now, we are in a position where we need to improve and keep getting better.
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“In terms of Mikel, last week I was against Inigo [Perez] and Xabi [Alonso], now Mikel, so a lot of friends on the opposition bench. I think it’s a good thing in terms of spending five or 10 minutes after the game with them but I know he will give us a very difficult game so we will have to be at our very best.”
Asked whether it is too early for fans to start dreaming of a title challenge, Iraola added: “For fans, it is good if they have expectations or they think we can win. Normally that’s a good thing but if you ask me if I think it is still very early in the season.”
Liverpool could also be boosted by the return of some key players for Sunday’s game, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Víctor Muñoz both progressing in their recoveries from a hamstring and knee injuries, ]respectively
“I think they have a chance,” Iraola said. “But I don’t know for sure if they will be involved or not. We still have two days, so I think they have a chance, yes.”
