Liverpool Director Concedes Arsenal Are Title Favourites

Liverpool have confirmed that Kenny Dalglish has returned to the club as a non-executive director and the former manager has immediately suggested that it is Arsenal who are the favourites to win the league this season.

Dalglish was sacked as Liverpool manager in May 2012 despite winning the League Cup, but his eighth place finish in the Premier League was not enough to convince the owners to stick with him for another season.

The three-time European Cup winner remains a legend at the club having made some 515 appearances and scored 172 goals during his time as a player.

"I have always said if there is anything I could do to help I would make myself available," said Dalglish. "It is an honour and privilege to be asked to return to Liverpool.

"I am looking forward to working with the board of directors and contributing to the strategic issues that affect Liverpool Football Club."

Liverpool have enjoyed an impressive start to the new season and currently sit second in the table after winning four of their opening six Premier League games.

There is a genuine feeling of excitement around Anfield but Dalglish has warned that it will be difficult for any team to overcome an Arsenal side who have been in scintillating form since Mesut Ozil arrived at the Emirates.

"Many people are saying they will fall away after that sequence of matches when their squad gets stretched .I'm not so sure," Dalglish wrote in the Mirror. "Their squad's not that thin when you look at it. And they are where they are despite a grim run of injuries.

"It looked as though they might implode when they lost to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. But they didn't.They bounced right back. So they have mental strength, too.

"The rest are going to have to work hard to knock them off their perch."

However, the Liverpool legend believes that the north London club are yet to face a serious test in the league and we will have to wait until the middle of November before we truly see whether this side can end their long wait for a trophy.

"A few weeks from now, in the space of a ­fortnight, they will play four games that will allow us to see what they're made of," explained Dalglish.

"Chelsea in the Capital One Cup. Liverpool in the league. Borussia Dortmund away in the Champions League and Manchester United away in the league. That run will tell us whether they are realistic contenders for the top honours this season."