Arsenal's dismal Newcastle defeat proves Mikel Arteta made mistake Arne Slot never will

There have been plenty of twists in the Premier League title race since the October international break, and of all the teams that are expected to be in contention at the business end of the season, .

The Gunners have not won a league game since the club season resumed, suffering defeats by Bournemouth and Newcastle, with a draw to sandwiched in between, and .

That issue is that may be over-reliant on its captain, Martin Odegaard, having won just three from seven in the Premier League since the Norwegian sustained a serious injury in September. Odegaard is still recovering after damaging ankle ligaments during a Nations League game between Norway and Austria earlier in the season.

The reality is, without Odegaard, the Arsenal team lacks a heartbeat and somebody that can set the tempo of its play, so it is perhaps no surprise that the Gunners are struggling for form without arguably their best player.

At Liverpool, meanwhile, it is not the case that the team is so reliant on any one player. Of course, Mohamed Salah has been viewed as the Reds' most dangerous attacking threat since joining the club seven years ago, but when he is not firing, there are plenty of other attackers who are capable of producing the goods.

In Liverpool's midfield, too, there is no one player whose presence is as closely linked to the team's performance as Odegaard's is to Arsenal. Arsenal signed Mikel Merino in the summer and, while he is a good player, he is not in Odegaard's class. Meanwhile, Declan Rice, Jorginho and Thomas Partey are all completely different players to Odegaard, which is why it's been so difficult for Arteta to find a solution to his captain being injured.

On the other hand, Liverpool's midfielders are all of a similar level of quality, while they also share plenty of similar attributes. Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai make up Slot's favored midfield trio, but he also has Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo in reserve, as well as Harvey Elliott when he returns.

The situation goes some way to explaining why Liverpool has opened up a seven-point lead over Arsenal. Of course, things change quickly in the Premier League, but the Gunners have plenty of work to do to reestablish themselves as title challengers.