Martin Keown has made another entry to the list of mad things said by pundits by claiming it’s better Arsenal have a six-point lead than a nine-point one.

The Gunners’ already substantial lead at the top of the Premier League looked set to grow even further after Dominik Szoboszlai scored one of the goals of the season to put Liverpool ahead but Manchester City’s fightback to earn just their second win at Anfield since 2003 has kept the gap at six heading into a mid-week round of fixtures.

Some reasonable Arsenal fans were disappointed with Liverpool not doing them a favour but Keown has come up with the claim that six is somehow better than nine. Here’s what he said on talkSPORT.

“You think about the game before and you think: ‘Okay, if it goes to nine points, then we know the narrative will be that Arsenal are champions'”

People still think that now Martin. You know, because they are at the top of the league.

“And I actually thought to myself, maybe it’s better that City win this game, just to keep it real.”

Steady now Martin, we can feel logic starting to slip away. That’s a bit like saying maybe it’s better the swimming pool has a shark in it because it makes you swim faster.

“If you’re a prospective champion, this is the life that you have to lead. You expect the unexpected.”

If we are being kind, we will say Keown was on live radio and just looking for any words to come out of his mouth but what does this even mean? One team winning a football game is hardly an Inception-esque bending of reality that is unexpected.

Also why does a team at the top of the table have to ‘expect the unexpected’ any more than the other 19? Surely teams down the bottom are far more impacted by the ‘unexpected’ of their rivals winning points where they had not been expected to?

MORE ON ARSENAL ON F365

*?Former Arsenal star tipped to become new Man Utd manager: ‘He’s struggling a little bit’
*?Arsenal loan star slammed by media after ‘disastrous’ display with team-mates ‘bewildered’
*?Neville claims three Man City ‘big characters’ could decide PL title as Terry sends message to Arsenal

“Of course it would have been handy to go nine points clear but the fact it didn’t happen, Arsenal haven’t been derailed by that.”

Okay so more points = handy but less points also = better?

It is also worth noting that Arsenal have literally not kicked a ball since the Liverpool – City match ended. For all we know, there has been a catastrophic loss of morale in the squad that has Mikel Arteta reaching for a light bulb that just won’t turn on.

They may have to postpone their Thursday game away at Brentford simply because half the squad can’t stop crying, so crushed are they by Manchester City securing three points rather than zero.

“I actually saw a lot from Arsenal at the weekend that made me think: ‘Do you know what? They will go the distance’.

This was a chance for Keown to you know, actually do some punditry, and maybe explain what he saw from Arsenal this weekend in particular that made him think they will be champions but sadly he just moves on, leaving us all to wonder what about a fairly regulation 3-0 home win against a Sunderland side that are the fourth worst team away from home this year can tell you about a team’s title credentials.

“But this is the life when you’re trying to be a prospective champion – there are twists and turns. You stay calm and you stay confident, and you go to the next game.”

Again, Keown dips into the Punditry 101 rulebook to end his statement. Job well done. Point made. No real explanation as to why nine is better than six. Cheers Martin.

READ NEXT:?Arne Slot and Michael Carrick among 10 PL managers lucky to be in job