The former Reds striker delivers his verdict on Arne Slot’s struggles, the impact of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, and why the table might be lying about the league’s “best team.”
The Premier League table is usually the ultimate arbiter of truth, but Michael Owen isn’t buying what the standings are selling.
In a season where Liverpool have gone from runaway champions to a side scrapping for a seat at Europe’s top table, the former Ballon d’Or winner has doubled down on a take that will leave many rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
Despite Arne Slot’s side languishing in sixth place trailing Mikel Arteta’s pacesetting Arsenal by a staggering 19 points Owen remains adamant that the “best” team in the country still resides at Anfield.
It is a bold, perhaps even defiant, assessment of a campaign that has seen the Reds lose 13 times across all competitions, including a midweek disappointment at Galatasaray.
“Best against best”
Speaking on the BBC’s Wayne Rooney Show, the 46-year-old former Reds striker dismissed the current gap between Liverpool and the summit, suggesting that the ceiling of this Liverpool squad remains higher than anything else the division has to offer.
“Personally I think they’re the best team in the Premier League,” Owen claimed. “People will laugh like, ‘where are they, sixth in the league?’ They trounced the league last season, they’re just not playing well.
“But if you get the best performance out of every team in the Premier League and say, ‘right, go on. Your best against your best’. I think Liverpool are the best team.”
For Owen, the frustration lies in the fact that a squad bolstered by the high-profile arrivals of Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, and Florian Wirtz has somehow managed to regress from their 2024-25 title-winning form.
You go to Anfield, I think it’s impossible if they’re playing well. It’s been massively frustrating, but I still find it hard to believe that you can go from being so dominant one season, and then add in some really top players, it’s hard to believe they’re worse now. Of course, they’re playing worse this season, but I think it’s only a matter of time before you see them at their very top again.“
“It’s hard to believe that they’re worse now,” he continued. “But I just think it’s a matter of time, maybe next season, before you see them at their very top again.”
The Arsenal question: aesthetics vs efficiency
While Arsenal look increasingly likely to end their long wait for a league title, Owen was quick to put their achievements into perspective, comparing them unfavourably to the Liverpool vintage of twelve months ago.
“Arsenal I think will go on to win the league,” Owen admitted. “But you can’t tell me they’re as good as, or even close to Liverpool last season. I think Liverpool have got it in them – they’re just not doing it consistently.”
Owen’s critique of the Gunners follows a growing narrative regarding their pragmatism. With the debate intensifying over Arsenal’s heavy reliance on set-pieces, Slot himself recently waded into the conversation, suggesting the modern game’s obsession with corners and dead-balls is straying from the “beautiful game” ideal.
The Liverpool boss, while preparing his side for a massive clash with Tottenham, didn’t hold back on his view of the current Premier League tactical landscape.
“You have to accept it. I think it’s mainly here in the Premier League. If I watch other leagues, I don’t think there’s so much emphasis on set-pieces,” Slot said.
“Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it. If you ask me about football, I think about the Barcelona team from 10, 15 years ago. Every Sunday evening you were hoping they would play.”
It was a pointed remark in a week where Mikel Arteta has been forced to defend his methods. The Arsenal boss has consistently hit back at critics, arguing that while he would love to play “beautiful football,” the brutal reality of the current Premier League makes it “no longer possible.”
At Anfield, however, the belief remains that the “best” is still within reach even if the table currently suggests otherwise.
The recent stumbles, particularly that late heartbreak at Molineux and the midweek reality check in Istanbul, have served as a sobering reminder that the finished article remains some way off.
Yet, beneath the surface of a frustrating campaign, the green shoots of recovery are beginning to break through.
Liverpool have quietly put together a run of five wins from their last seven outings a sequence that has mirrored a significant upturn in the influence of Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez. The duo, both of whom have found the transition to Anfield’s demands a steep learning curve, are finally starting to look like the players the recruitment team envisioned.
The real shot in the arm, however, is the impending return of Alexander Isak. The Swede, whose absence has left a gaping hole in the Reds frontline, is expected to resume full training later this month. His reintegration could be the catalyst Slot needs to ensure this season’s “struggle” doesn’t become a permanent fixture.
