Liverpool the weakest of the Big Four and most at threat?

Rafa Benitez' five years in the hotseat at Anfield have, by some at least, been deemed a success. In large that's down to one terrific performance in Istanbul during his first season, a night that ITV and Sky between them haven't let us forget. Since then the title has continued to elude them, last year's chase of United, though in truth their performances were only upped once they were well off the pace, the closest they might ever get.

European form has been steady but ultimately bore little fruit. An FA Cup in 2006 remains his only other honour there as manager, yet still, somewhat admirably, in my opinion, the fans seem to have his back. How much of that is down to their dismay at the current ownership of the club, well, i wouldn't be qualified to say, but their start to the season and the general lack of silverware under the Spaniard would indicate that it might be a little naive.

Stories in the press this week that Benitez will have a bumper £12m to spend in January will have sent sly laughs around the city, and the Premier League. With the sort of money that got us Wayne Bridge Rafa is expected to turn a relatively thin squad already heavily-reliant on two players into the real deal. At a push that would have been realistic had he not sold his most important player to Real Madrid this summer and replaced him with a vastly overrated full-back who can't tackle, and an Italian midfielder fond of treatment tables.

Completely writing Liverpool off might well prove extremely foolish. Two games lost during last season's entire league campaign showed us that they can be consistent, and dig deep to win games when needed, but in my opinion Benitez has failed to address the areas of his squad that required surgery for them to push on. A backup striker was needed, not even a top one, just someone who wasn't David N'gog, and a midfield addition on top of a replacement for Alonso.

Three defeats in their opening eight league fixtures should prove a real wake-up call, but the main concern for their fans must be that not only have they been beaten but they've been beaten well. Last year they may have snook those games, or grabbed a point, whereas this, Spurs, Villa and Chelsea outclassed them in games that their star players failed to make any sort of positive mark on whatsoever.

Talk of us being title contenders is nonsense, we're no more likely to win the Premier League than Everton, Villa, Spurs, or anyone else who isn't Chelsea or Stretford. We should by no means be disheartened by that, possibly challenging Arsenal or Liverpool for one of the top four places would be huge progress in itself. If one of those does kindly make way, i can only see it being the latter, and that's not gut reaction, they're simply the weakest.

Arsenal, though there are some takeover concerns for their supporters, too, as the established shareholders, with the help of American Stan Kroenke try and keep Alisher Usmanov's advances at bay, appear to at least be pulling in the same direction at board level for the time being, and Wenger seems as safe as ever in his position. The same can't be said for their Anfield counterparts, as Hicks and Gillett constantly vie for favour and neither seem keen to back Rafa further in the transfer market.

On the pitch, aswell, Arsenal simply have a better and more fluid squad of players, and although they've demonstrated a soft centre at Eastlands already, the kicks to morale look to have spurred them on. In with a shout come January, though it's maybe against Wenger's nature to spend big, word is they're in a reasonably healthy position to strengthen, despite the general opinion being to the contrary.

If we do manage to replace one of these sides this season, and it will by no means be a formality, then of the four it's most likely to be Liverpool. On paper we have the better squad, but whether we can do what top sides need to, win tough games away from home without playing well and on a consistant basis, remains to be seen, though early signs are positive. We can only do our bit, carry on picking up points, and hope that discord over the Mersey continues to work in our favour.