Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has made it clear he feels there is still a long way to go in the Premier League title race.
The Hungary international, who lifted the trophy last season with the Reds, netted a stunning free-kick to down the Gunners at Anfield back in August.
However, when asked by Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davison whether Liverpool are "playing the champions" on Thursday in Arsenal, the 25-year-old was not entirely in agreement.
Szoboszlai said: "Oh my god, it's a long way, the Premier League is not easy, you don't win it by January. So I don't think we are playing against the champions, they play against the champions.
"And that probably they know as well, we know as well, we know they're one of the favourites for this year.
"They're an unbelievable team, really good players but we also shouldn't forget about Manchester City or Aston Villa, who is doing very good.
"So yeah, no we don't play against the champions, they play against the champions."
Arsenal are currently six points clear of Manchester City at the summit after Pep Guardiola's challengers dropped four points last week following draws with Sunderland and Chelsea.
The gap could however be slashed to three points by the time the Gunners kick off against Liverpool as City face Brighton at the Etihad Stadium this evening.
Like Szoboszlai, Manchester City midfielder Rodri insists there is still a long way to go.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner said after Chelsea snatched a point on Sunday: “It’s frustrating of course but at the end of the day it is what it is. We created enough chances to win the game three or four nil, but this is football.
“If you don’t take your chances with nothing they just draw the game. So we have to learn from this. There is still a long way to go and we just need to focus on the next games.
“It unbalances the team every single time a player goes out [injured] but of course the team has to adjust. It is not an excuse, we have enough talented players to play but in the second half we lose face a bit.
“We move on, we have the next match against Brighton at home and we have to win. We know that this season is going to be long so we have to keep going and going.”
