David Raya: Arsenal must handle title race nerves

Despite trailing Liverpool, Raya believes Arsenal have what it takes to overturn the deficit and stay in the fight for the trophy.

Liverpool currently sit eight points clear at the top of the table, but their recent performances have raised questions. They secured a narrow victory over Wolves last weekend before being held to a draw by Aston Villa.

Slot has had an impressive start at Anfield, leading Liverpool to the top of the table while also guiding them to the Carabao Cup final and the Champions League knockout stages. However, with the title race heating up, maintaining momentum will be crucial.

A defining moment in the season comes on Sunday as Liverpool face Manchester City in a high-stakes clash.

A win for Liverpool would reinforce their grip on the title, while a victory for City could allow Arsenal to gain ground.

"That's going to happen (nerves). I think that happened to us last year when they played first and we played after then we got beat by Aston Villa," said Raya.

"That's the just the sense of football, maybe this weekend we play first then they play second, we play second and they play first. You just have to cope with it as best as possible and the best way is to think about ourselves and to not think too much about them.

"Win games, win the next game and we'll see where we are in May.

"This league is crazy when you think about the top six, the big clubs but you're putting Aston Villa, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Fulham all these times are fighting to get in European positions, it's so entertaining for the fans but it's so tough for us and the players competing at the highest level.

"It's an open league, that's why it's magnificent. [It's] The best league in the world because of these things because you don't know who can be up there.

"[The Arsenal] Squad is very happy with what we have been doing, how we've been playing, what we showed to everyone what we could be able to do. We're very, very confident that we're going to keep going and try to win it at the end of the season." 

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