Having saw midfielder Mikel Merino score a late brace off the bench as a makeshift false nine at Leicester City the week before, Gunners boss Arteta selected his fellow Spaniard up front.

Out went the out-of-form former Liverpool starlet Raheem Sterling, who has only scored once all season and has looked a shadow of his former self at Chelsea and now Arsenal since leaving Man City in the summer of 2022.

Merino was subsequently flanked by Leandro Trossard and teenager Ethan Nwaneri.



Recording both a goal and an assist against City, he now has 30 goals and 21 assists for the season in all competitions.

Liverpool news and transfers LIVE: 3 summer signings, Mohamed Salah deal 'close', Darwin Nunez plan	Slot given two-game ban for red card at Everton	Slot given two-game touchline ban

With 25 goals and 16 assists coming in the Premier League, he is comfortably leading the way for both the Golden Boot and Playmaker awards.

And with Slot’s squad scoring 64 times in the Premier League in total so far this season, they are comfortably the best attacking side - scoring 12 more than Man City and 13 more than Arsenal.

With Salah out of contract at the end of the season, and his Anfield future uncertain as a result, and Gakpo the only forward not being linked with a Reds exit, it will be fascinating to see how Liverpool’s attacking ranks look next season as they look to strengthen from a position of strength.

Before facing City, Slot had been directly asked if the Reds would look to sign a new centre-forward in the summer.

And so too Newcastle United, if Alexander Isak ends up being an answer to one of their rivals’ own attacking pursuit.

Meanwhile, only the January signing of Omar Marmoush perhaps spares Man City from such a conversation with the rest of the Premier League’s big-hitters.

Be it a transfer dogfight or merry-go-round, the stage is set for prolific forwards to become a most wanted commodity in the English top-flight this summer.

But for now, the Premier League’s big names will continue with what they’ve got as Arsenal continue to flounder with depleted numbers while Liverpool flourish despite their own uncertainty in their attacking ranks.

While the Reds and Gunners’ contrasting fortunes without a centre-forward last weekend have not gone unnoticed, it is perhaps fitting that the Premier League’s two most in-form number nines will have the next say in the title race.

On Wednesday, Arsenal travel to Nottingham Forest while Liverpool host Newcastle as they both prepare to face exactly what they are lacking.

Arteta and Slot have forged the Premier League’s two meanest defences this season, conceding 23 and 26 goals respectively, but they will have their work cut out to keep Chris Wood and Alexander Isak quiet.

Isak’s brace over Nottingham Forest on Sunday saw him move level with Erling Haaland in joint-second in the Premier League scoring charts this season with 19 goals

Wood is just behind on 18 as he continues to help keep the Tricky Trees’ unlikely challenge for Champions League qualification alive.

Only Salah has scored more than the aforementioned trio this season, but as he has pointed out himself only recently in a telling barb at Haaland’s expense, he is a winger rather than centre-forward, insisting his task is much more difficult as a result.

Liverpool and Arsenal both continue to be linked with summer moves for Isak

At 33 years old, Wood is admittedly unlikely to emerge on their transfer radar.

But the prolific pair are exactly what the Reds and Gunners have been lacking down the middle this season - with contrasting results - and what they will look to rectify in the summer.

Before then, the Premier League title remains up for grabs
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