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Martin Keown: Liverpool Have 'Right Ingredients' to Match Arsenal's Invincibles

Christopher Simpson

Arsenal legend Martin Keown has stated his belief that Liverpool will match the Gunners' Invincibles title win this season. 

In a column for the Daily Mail, Keown, who won his third Premier League title with Arsenal in their unbeaten 2003-04 season, said he thinks Liverpool will do the same in this campaign because "they have all the right ingredients."

"Fear from the opposition is one [such ingredient]. We had that at Arsenal back then, and Liverpool have that now."

The Reds are the reigning European champions and appear to be on an unstoppable march to the title, having built up a 13-point lead with a game in hand on their rivals. "That grows in the minds of opponents," Keown added.

The 53-year-old also pointed to comments made by Jordan Henderson after Liverpool beat Sheffield United 2-0 on January 2, in which the Reds captain said going unbeaten was not a concern:

"That's the right way to talk," Keown said. "Liverpool's players cannot come out and say: 'Yeah, going unbeaten is one of our goals,' because opponents might then try even harder to be that team to knock them off their perch. Nor can they start believing they are perfect, otherwise complacency can trip you up."

The former centre-back praised manager Jurgen Klopp for fostering a similar mentality in the dressing room to the one created by Arsene Wenger in 2003-04, where all the players are constantly aiming to improve.

Liverpool's win over the Blades marked an impressive milestone for them:

The Reds were last beaten in the Premier League by Manchester City on January 3 last year, which was also their only league defeat of the 2018-19 season.

Liverpool legend John Barnes still has doubts over their ability to match Arsenal's achievement, though:

Two of the three fixtures Barnes referred toTottenham Hotspur away and Manchester United at home—are Liverpool's next two games.

Should they come through those unscathed, they still have their trip to City in April and they'll also face Arsenal and Chelsea in May, so they have plenty more tests to pass before the end of the campaign.

What's more, they might also be juggling involvement in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup.

City showed last season that a team can compete on multiple fronts without compromising their league form. They finished the campaign with 14 consecutive Premier League wins while also reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League and proceeding to win the FA Cup. 

As their incredible form has shown this season, Liverpool are of a similar level to the one reached by City, but it will nevertheless be an incredibly difficult feat for them to pull off.

   

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