Jamie Carragher claims Liverpool could have had six-point lead over everyone in the Premier League at this stage if they signed Arsenal star

Liverpool great Jamie Carragher has claimed that his former club could have had a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League if they had signed Arsenal's Declan Rice.

Ahead of the Reds' home league contest against Arsenal this Saturday (December 23), Carragher shared his pre-match thoughts in his column for The Telegraph. He wrote:

"If Liverpool had signed Declan Rice last summer, they might already be six points clear of the rest."

Rice, who is arguably one of the top defensive midfielders in the world, was a topic of transfer speculation earlier this summer. The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a number of Premier League clubs prior to his potential £105 million transfer to the Gunners earlier this July.

A 48-cap England international, Rice has proved to be a transformative signing for Arsenal so far. He has formed a brilliant midfield partnership with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz, breathing new life into Mikel Arteta's outfit with his stellar passing and defensive awareness.

So far, the ex-Chelsea youth player has netted three goals and laid out two assists in 25 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners.

Leandro Trossard chalks out plan to defeat Arsenal's next league opponents Liverpool

During an interview with Canal+, Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard shared his two cents on his team's upcoming Premier League clash against Liverpool. He said (h/t The Standard):

"They have such a good squad and such a great team, and you can tell how they are evolving this season as well, how well they are doing. It is always a really tough place to go to get points from, so we have to be so, so good in the game and on the day to get away with points and, hopefully, the three points."

Trossard, who has hit a hat-trick at Liverpool's home ground, continued:

"I think we are in a good moment now. We had a really good game [in a 2-0 win] against Brighton. We have got the momentum going again and we have such a good squad. If everyone is at their best, we can beat them there. Obviously, there are numerous factors that can decide a game – but we have to believe in ourselves that we can win there. Hopefully we can do that."

Arsenal, who are winless at Anfield for over 11 years, are currently at the top of the Premier League table with 39 points from 17 matches.

Liverpool, who have won 18 of 26 matches this campaign, are second in the 2023-24 league standings with 38 points, same as Aston Villa.