Trent Alexander-Arnold has sounded the perfect advice for Arsenal after their hopes of landing a first Premier League title in 20 years suffered a fatal blow as they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners, who started the weekend at the top of the Premier League ahead of both Liverpool and Manchester City, failed to capitalise on Jurgen Klopp's side's 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Anfield earlier in the afternoon as goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins handed Unai Emery a famous victory against his former side at the Emirates Stadium.

The defeat has taken the prospect of Arsenal securing a first Premier League since 2004 out of their hands, with the Gunners now relying on a slip-up from Manchester City in the final weeks of the season as the reigning champions side sit two points ahead with just six games remaining.

However, Alexander-Arnold has insisted that defeats are part and parcel of life as a professional footballer and revealed that he tries to combat the disappointment of such setbacks by keeping a "flat baseline".

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Alexander-Arnold said: "I respect the way I feel and I embrace it [the defeat] for however long it needs to take. The more of a rut you're in, the longer it will take. If you have one bad game, you don’t really think about it but if it’s 4,5,6 games where you haven’t really had a good game, it lasts a lot longer. I try as best as I can to keep a flat baseline.

"Whether good, bad or in-between, don’t get ahead of yourself. I have always believed in keeping levelheaded, my family, my friends around me as well will keep my feet on the floor.”

Liverpool vice-captain Alexander-Arnold has experienced both the highs and lows of a Premier League title race after playing a key role in the side that ended the Reds' 30-year wait for a title in 2020 but also missed out on top spot by a single point in both 2019 and 2022.

Asked what could prove to be the difference between Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the final weeks of the campaign, Alexander-Arnold said it will be a season decided by the finest of margins.

“Having the experience of being in a title race will be a massive part of getting over the line, but obviously Arsenal and Manchester City will have that from last season with their title race," added Alexander-Arnold before admitting Liverpool's desire to deliver Jurgen Klopp a fairytale send-off could prove to be a decisive factor.

“I think Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of the season will feed into the title run in. The fear that it gets to May and it’s still tight, then it’ll feed into how it’s going to look and how it could feel up until then."

“We just need to try and stay composed. The manager never says we’re trying to win the league, he doesn’t speak about it, but it’s more that we’re going to get the most out of ourselves, we’re going to squeeze every drop of potential there.

“There will be twists and turns no matter what, and I’m sure teams will try and win it, and we’ll come close to winning every single game between now and the end of the season, and we just hope we’re in the best position at the end of the season.”

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