Paul Merson has sparked a fiery debate with his Sky Sports colleagues over Liverpool’s Premier League title prospects, suggesting the Reds could still implode despite their current lead.

Arne Slot’s team sits comfortably six points ahead with an extra match to play, but Liverpool‘s recent form has led ex-Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood to claim that even if Arsenal could recruit any three players from around the globe, they wouldn’t catch up.

This ignited a heated exchange between Merson, Sherwood and Clinton Morrison as they speculated on the title’s fate with 15 matches remaining. Merson, a former Arsenal forward, vehemently dismissed the notion that Liverpool is out of reach, citing last season’s collapse when Liverpool lost at home to Crystal Palace while leading the league.

He argued: “You have got to remember Liverpool were top of the league last season with six games to go. They lost at home to Crystal Palace. They lost at home. What happened? They’ve got it in them. Everybody forgets.

“Nobody said a word when they did that. They got beat by Palace, they melted and nobody said a dickie bird. Arsenal go to the penultimate game of the season against Man City and everyone called Arsenal bottle jobs. No one says a word when it’s Liverpool.”

Merson admitted that Liverpool‘s lead makes them strong favourites, but highlighted away fixtures against Everton, Bournemouth, and Manchester City as potential banana skins for the Reds. He explained: “They probably are going to win it. It’s the game in hand. If they win that they are 10 points clear if you count goal difference. Then it’s a bit different…. but Everton under the lights, David Moyes.

“Out of the away games, Man City is the easiest one. Everton will sit 10 behind the ball, hard to break down, Bournemouth are playing as well as anybody at the moment, we’ve seen what they can do. Man City will have a go at Liverpool. That’s where I’d say it’s their easiest game because of the way they play.”

Liverpool defeated Ipswich 4-1 on Saturday. Arsenal were forced to overcome a harsh red card for Myles Lewis-Skelly to defeat Wolves 1-0.

Riccardo Calafiori scored late on for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta was left ‘fuming’ over Lewis-Skelly’s first-half sending off.

This story first appeared on the Liverpool Echo