Former top-flight striker Gary Lineker has doubled down on his prediction that Arsenal will be crowned as league champion this season. The Gunners currently sit on top of the table and boast a three-point lead over Liverpool after Jürgen Klopp's side were dealt a major setback in their pursuit of top spot on Wednesday night. The Reds were beaten 2-0 by Everton at Goodison Park.

Arsenal also boasts a far superior goal difference to the Reds with four matches to play, which could prove particularly useful as they look to hold down its current position. Manchester City finds itself four points adrift of Mikel Arteta's side with two games in hand and will be looking to apply the pressure back on the Gunners on Thursday evening when they take on Brighton.

Offering his view on how the title race is likely to play out, Lineker told TNT Sports: "The truth is, I don't know. You can say what you want, but it could be any of them. If you had to put your life on it, you'd probably go Manchester City because they are in a prime spot now and it's in their hands. They do have a tendency to win every game at the end of the season."

"But I went for Arsenal at the start of the season," he continued. "I thought they would push them [City] this season because they are gradually improving. I am going to stick with Arsenal, but with no confidence whatsoever. It could be any of the three."

Jürgen Klopp, with a tone of resignation, acknowledged the uphill battle for Liverpool in the title race after Wednesday's match. "I understand it," he said. "It's part of the business but I don't know why I have to answer this question [about the title race]. You can read the table."

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He continued, expressing the need for a dramatic shift in fortunes: "I can't say now that we are still fully in it, we need a crisis at Man City and Arsenal and need to win football games because if they start losing all their games and we do what we did tonight nothing changes."