Martin Keown says Liverpool would ‘prefer to hunt Man City than be hunted’ in Premier League title race… just like Arsenal pursued Man Utd

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Arsenal legend Martin Keown insists he preferred chasing the Premier League leaders for the title rather than being top during a season.

The former England defender won three top-flight titles with the Gunners in his successful 11-year spell in north London.

Liverpool face a huge task to successfully defend their title

This year, fourth-placed Liverpool are seven points behind leaders Man City, with the two sides meeting at Anfield on Sunday in a huge Premier League clash.

And Keown reckons it could benefit the Reds to chase the title from a lower position, rather than Jurgen Klopp’s side sitting top and fending off competitors for their crown – just like Arsenal benefited from this exact situation in the 1997/98 and 2001/02 campaigns.

“You prefer to hunt rather than be hunted,” said Keown on White and Jordan on talkSPORT.

“We went after Manchester United in the 1998 season where the bookies were paying out. We needed to win ten games on the bounce; everyone said we wouldn’t do it, we did.

“You could just see the fear coming into United.

“And we did it in 2002, we had to win the last 12 games.

“When we were in a [leading] position ourselves, it became tough because every time you lose a game, it’s in the press and media.

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“The media are on it; they make massive issues of all the problems and it just seems to compound and snowball.

“The next opposition can smell blood and you lose it and somehow it all floats away.

“So it’s tough. Hats off to anyone that’s managed it, but we didn’t manage it at Arsenal.”

Keown believes Liverpool’s clash with Man City is a must-win game for Klopp’s side, with many suggesting the Reds will be OUT the title race should Pep Guardiola claim victory at Anfield.

The former defender added: “I think they’ve got to go and win it, because they’re looking over their shoulders at West Ham who are just two points behind.

“They can’t find consistency. The games are being chalked off. They’ve got 16 games left and they still can’t find consistency.