Liverpool star Ibrahima Ibrahima Konate teases William Saliba about Arsenal's Premier League title hopes as France duo indulge in mind games

Liverpool burst out of the blocks again this term, with a flurry of late goals seeing them rewrite the history books while collecting five successive wins in Premier League competition. Said success came on the back of an elaborate spending spree in the summer transfer window that saw deals for the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak smash records.

The wheels have come off slightly since then, with Liverpool suffering three straight defeats in all competitions. Those setbacks have come against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea across domestic and Champions League action. Arne Slot’s side have been knocked from the loftiest of perches as a result.

Arsenal, who have finished as Premier League runners-up in each of the last three seasons, have moved to the summit. They are only one point clear of the chasing pack, having picked up 16 through seven matches, but are daring to dream of securing a first title since the fabled ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-24.

Saliba will have an important role to play for the Gunners if they are to sustain a bid for ultimate glory, with the classy centre-half integral to Mikel Arteta’s plans. He is, however, happy to play down expectations for now - especially when indulging in playful banter with an international team-mate.

When signing autographs for fans at France’s international squad base at Clairefontaine, Konate was handed a picture of him holding the Premier League trophy. With Saliba by his side, the Liverpool defender quipped: “Hey Wilo, it's you, right?” Saliba responded with: “No, no, it's you for this year. Konate added: “It's for you this year.” Saliba hit back again with: “No, it's Liverpool again! We have to put pressure on them.”

It remains to be seen whether Konate will be fit enough to line up for France in their upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland. He was replaced during the second half of Liverpool’s dramatic 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Reds boss Slot told reporters afterwards: “I don't know if it's a big injury, but I do know that he limped. And I asked him, and he said, 'I feel my quad a little bit'. But, for me, all alarm bells go off because in another sprint, then you never know if that is going to go good, so it was already a substitution I had in mind for maybe a little bit later, because the right centre-back has a lot of ball possession, and we all know that Ryan (Gravenberch) is good in there. So it might be okay and he went off early enough, but it was clear that I had to take him off because he was limping.”

France boss Didier Deschamps said when waiting for his squad to report for national team duty: “There are still injuries. I don't have any additional information. We'll have an update when the players arrive. The observation is that for the vast majority, they arrive tired. They arrive from one week to three matches. I will have to spread out the playing time more than in September. They are all fit to play.”

France have no need to take fitness gambles as they are fast closing in on qualification for next summer’s World Cup. Club bosses will also be eager to ensure that no risks are taken on players that will be required to slot straight back into the fold when returning to their domestic bases.

Liverpool have a crunch clash against old adversaries Manchester United to come on October 19, with Konate required for that contest, while Arsenal will return to Premier League action after the international break with a short trip to London neighbours Fulham.