Alan Shearer Exclusive: Arsenal won't catch Liverpool in Premier League title race

• Arsenal attack isn't strong enough to overtake Liverpool

• Manchester City have only themselves to blame for UCL loss

• Man Utd are a million miles away from their former greatness

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Arsenal don't have forwards to chase down Liverpool

 Arsenal have to deal with the situation they find themselves in. They chose not to invest in a forward in the summer when so many people were saying that's what they needed. 

They've got so many injuries in that position now that I think they've only got three fit forwards in Sterling, Nwaneri and Trossard so they're going to be tested and whether that affects their push for the title, we'll have to wait and see. They'll have to go on a bit of a relentless run if they're going to try and upset Liverpool.

I know Liverpool's result against Everton was two points dropped, but Arsenal will still have to go on a phenomenal run to say they're serious contenders for the title. Liverpool are in control.

I think Liverpool will win the Premier League. They have enough strength in depth. I know Arne Slot fielded a new team against Plymouth and it backfired but I think their depth, other than at centre-half, is pretty strong. I don't see Liverpool losing the title. 

Man City threw it away against Real Madrid

 Is there a mindset issue with Manchester City and holding on to leads? The more it happens, the more concerned you get and these collapses have happened so many times that it has to be in their mind now.

There are so many things you can look at as factors in City's downfall:  recruitment, lack of legs in the midfield, conceding as many as they do once they concede one, and injuries too. When you put all of those things into the pot, that's when the doubt creeps in. 

It has to be more than one thing because it's happened so many times. I know they've had injuries but they still had the vast majority of their squad back, bar Rodri, against Real Madrid. They got two or three injuries again in the game which didn't help them.

 

We have to bear in mind that they were playing against three or four of the best players in world football in the Madrid forward line. Vinicius Junior and his team-mates were always going to get chances but I said on co-commentary that you can't give them the chances that Man City gave them and expect to win. Madrid have got too much quality. 

Ederson made two or three really good saves but then made the error for Real Madrid's second goal and was caught in no-man's-land for the third. It's a concern generally how many chances Man City are giving to the opposition and that's why they're in the position that they are this season.

 Man City could've been 3-0 down within 10 minutes if Madrid had taken their chances. But after the first 15 minutes or so there were plenty of positives. John Stones was, without doubt, one of them. He looked so comfortable in midfield. Haaland, who hadn't scored in four against Real Madrid, now has two in five. So there were plenty of positives but we'll all look at the negatives and the result. 

I'd be amazed if Man City turn it around in the second leg because they've been so poor defensively and I'd be amazed if keep that Real Madrid quartet quiet for 90 minutes in the Bernabeu. I can't see City stopping them from scoring.

The old Manchester United is long gone

It's not going to be a quick fix at Man United on or off the pitch. Clearly things have been left to rot for so long and Jim Ratcliffe has had to come in and make big decisions about ticket prices, firing staff, bringing his own staff in and then firing them. Some of those big decisions have been poor.

There are so many things that have looked poor in terms of cutting costs, getting rid of staff and former players off the books. It's been one bad PR move after another. You may be able to get away with those things if it's going well on the pitch. But things are going so poor there as well. It's not a good look both on and off the pitch and I don't see it getting better any time soon. 

If you listen to the manager, he's said they're the worst team in the club's history, there this, that and the other. I know that he may be being brutally honest but he may be better off not saying those things because I'm not sure that breeds any sort of confidence in the club at all. 

You don't have to be a genius to see that things are really poor on the pitch at the minute and it's been a long, hard season for them. 

In terms of PSR too. How they can go out and spend a shed load in the summer - which is what needs to happen -  to bring quality players in? I don't know how they're going to get around PSR. 

The reality is that, although it's Manchester United in name, the United that we grew up with and I played against, is gone. They're not a giant of a football team anymore. They haven't been for a while and will continue to be that for a while longer yet. 

I don't know how long that's going to take to fix, but they're a million miles off the Man United I played against. 

Newcastle are in a great position to have success this season

 I don't know if it would be a failure if Newcastle didn't win any silverware this season, but they've got a great opportunity. I would have much preferred for them to play Spurs in the League Cup final rather than Liverpool - particularly with what Liverpool have just had happen to them in the FA Cup. 

Slot was punished for that decision and maybe he was planning to make some changes in the Carabao Cup final. I suspect he won't now, because of that. That's going to be a really tough one. I know Liverpool are the best team in the country. 

But Newcastle have got the opportunity to win that trophy and they are sitting pretty in the FA Cup. They've got a home draw in the fifth round against Brighton, so things are looking good and the main thing is that they keep everyone fit. 

Two years ago, in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United, there were suspensions and injuries. We can't afford for that to happen again, they need all of their big hitters to be fit - that's the key between now and then. 

The experience of going to Wembley two years ago and sampling the atmosphere, feeling all of it will help. It won't be such a new thing, because the vast majority of players in this squad were there then.  They'll know what to feel, and what to expect. It should stand them in good stead. Having said that, they're going up against the best team in the country, so they'll know what it's like. 

Liverpool is a club which is about having to win trophies. They've been there and done it. They're up against it, but with Newcastle's first choice 11 can win it. It will be about whoever performs on the day.

I'd rather play alongside Isak than Haaland

It's tough to pick between Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland so far this season. If you go from what he did last season to this, then look at the goalscoring charts, Haaland is still there at the top. But Isak is getting better all of the time. He scored 25 goals last season and is on target to beat that total this time around. I'm not sure if I can pick between the two, because they're both scoring goals. 

They're very different players and both great, but I think Isak would suit me better as a strike partner, because Haaland and myself would take up the same space. 

Haaland is the out-and-out number nine - he doesn't really want to drift out onto the wings, which Isak is comfortable doing and going past players as well. 

I would definitely have got more goals playing alongside Isak, because he would create more for me, and do my running. 

Newcastle can build with Isak staying

 In terms of the PSR, Newcastle haven't really brought anyone in of any significance transfer-wise for three windows now. They've sold players who they had to get rid of, so I guess this summer they can bring necessary players in who they need. 

It feels as though it's a different Newcastle to the one two years ago. They're in a good position in the league, going well in both cups. Financially I guess, because they haven't spent in the past three windows and have sold players, that means they can bring a couple of players in this summer. 

In terms of Isak, we get how football works. We'll have to get into a Champions League spots for that transfer talk to disappear. I'll still go back to my point - I'm not sure anyone in England can afford him - maybe Man City but they have Haaland. 

Liverpool and Arsenal will need a forward, but I'm not sure either of those two teams can afford him. It's not as if he's got a short amount of time left on his contract at Newcastle either - he's on a long contract. 

Why would Newcastle even contemplate selling their best player? You're not going to be able to replace him. Everyone wants and needs a top-class centre-forward, so why would they even consider selling to a rival? 

Rangers' Clement under pressure with Gerrard in UK

I saw Ranger's the result in the Scottish Cup against Queens Park. I was also there at Ibrox at the start of the year when Rangers battered Celtic 3-0. It's amazing when a team go from a high of that kind of win to the low of such a defeat in the space of just six weeks. 

You know the rule when you go into Rangers or Celtic: you have to win. If your biggest rivals beat you consistently, as Celtic are, and you go into a cup competition and lose to a team that you're expected to beat, then you're going to be under huge pressure. 

I'm not one for saying that a manager should be sacked and I never will say that, because I get how tough the job is. However, you know the rules and are under massive pressure at these clubs. As Rangers boss, you run the risk of losing your job with results like that loss against Queens Park, especially as Steve Gerrard is back in the UK and out of work.

VAR free football was refreshing but referees must improve

 The FA Cup games flowed a lot better without VAR. There was no stop-start. What we all know is that you're still going to get contentious decisions and fans sat in the pub saying that it was never a foul, offside or that never crossed the line which is what football is all about. 

Without VAR last weekend, there were no four-or five-minute stops to make decisions, so I found it quite refreshing.

Newcastle may've got the benefit of the doubt in terms of whether the ball crossed the line or not, I don't know. The assistant gave it, so they had to go with that decision. 

Going forward, it's not about getting rid of VAR. That's here to stay whether you like it or not. They've invested too much money into it. 

I think what's clear is that refereeing standards need to improve. They need more referees in the game to push the ones that are in the Premier League at the moment so that the standards improve. I feel that some of them aren't good enough at the minute.

Premier League injures are concerning

 Most teams are facing or have faced an injury crisis this season. It's an issue. I've always been reluctant to comment on players playing too much football and it's not an argument you're ever going to win with a lot of fans.

I understand that because fans look at players and say that they should be able to go and play with the money they're being paid. But all the top players now are playing in the Champions League, Club World Cup, World Cup and the Euros so it is pretty relentless for players and there basically isn't a break. Eventually it will dilute the quality because we won't see the best players on the pitch. 

The fans who are already paying loads of money for tickets want to see the best players in top shape so they can produce the ability that they've got, not players who have injuries and can't get out onto a football pitch.  Without doubt, I think people should be concerned.

If I was playing now I'd fancy my chances at scoring more, but playing so many games would be a challenge. When I was playing I had three serious injures, whether that was because of the number of games, the pitches weren't as great or whatever. I'll never know.

Nowadays, the sports science is better, the pitches are much better, you're not getting whacked as much in terms of tackles like players were 20 years ago as the game has changed. 

Judging by my injury record when I was playing, I probably wouldn't have fared too well with the number of games that there are now. 

I think I'd have scored more goals just because of the quality of the game. The pitches and the defenders aren't really allowed to tackle anymore like they were long before my time. I'd fancy my chances to have score more goals than I did. 

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