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Paul Merson is full of praise for runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

He may be an Arsenal legend, but Paul Merson knows that Liverpool are the 'outstanding' team in the Premier League this season.

At one point it appeared as if his old club were going to run the Reds close in the title race.

But now it seems a case of when and not if Liverpool are crowned English top-flight champions for the 20th time in the club's storied history.

The Reds currently sit 13 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who do have a game in hand, after a potentially decisive five days in the battle for the championship.

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The Gunners handed the initiative to the leaders after they lost 1-0 at home to West Ham United.

And Liverpool responded little over 24 hours later as they won 2-0 at defending champions Manchester City before following that up with another 2-0 triumph at home to Newcastle United, who they will face in the Carabao Cup final later this month.

On the same night Arsenal dropped more points, drawing 0-0 at third-placed Nottingham Forest, which has left many pundits to declare that Arne Slot's table-topping side will not be caught.

And that's not the only silverware they could win because, as well as being one victory away from retaining the Carabao Cup, over the next two weeks they face Paris Saint-Germain for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Juggling European and domestic commitments at this stage of a campaign is notoriously difficult.

But with having such a commanding lead at the top of the Premier League, Merson is of the belief that Liverpool, whose 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest in September remains their sole defeat in this season's competition, can afford a number of slip-ups.

"It's just a case of how many points now," said the former England international on Sky Sports.

They've been absolutely outstanding.

"They've got the Champions League now, two big games against PSG (in between a home league match against rock-bottom Southampton), and as long as they tick along, they'll be all right.

"They could afford three or four slip-ups and they'd still be all right.

The Man City game, they won that comfortably, and then the Newcastle game as well.

I can't speak highly enough of them.

"I did their game against Nottingham Forest, when they lost, and I wasn't that impressed at all and I thought they could struggle.

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"It was straight after the international break and with Slot coming from Holland, I don't think it's the same as the Premier League.

I think when you come back from a break in Holland, there's still a massive gulf, but in the Premier League, when you come back the lesser teams have got a good chance of beating you.
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