Lee Dixon played more than 600 times for Arsenal and Kenny Dalglish reached legendary status at Anfield. He is also the last manager to lead Liverpool to the league title, in 1990. Dalglish was in the dugout, and Dixon on the pitch, when Arsenal famously snatched the title on Merseyside in 1989.

Is this Liverpool’s year at last?

Kenny Dalglish: They’ve given themselves a fantastic opportunity. It’s not a failure if they don’t. As long as they sustain the improvement, the league might be there for them.

Lee Dixon: I don’t believe you know until you get towards Easter. I think the fans play a huge part and the fans at Liverpool have had 18 years of frustration. It could drive them on; also, if they get a few dodgy results, the fans could get a bit twitchy and that might trip them up.

Dalglish: I don’t think the supporters are a problem. If it’s made known to them that they can be a tremendous asset, then they’ll take that on board. I know they’ve been upset, but it’s at the end of games when they’ve vented their frustration, which is fair. We were booed off the pitch when we were playing, it’s not exclusive to this year.

And Arsenal?

Dixon: You can’t lose five games before Christmas in the way they have and go on and win the league. We’ve seen how they’ve raised their game for the big teams. I can quite easily see them beating Liverpool. I went to the Fulham defeat at Craven Cottage in August and could not believe how badly they played. It really depressed me, that game. I was seeing something that’s not just about passing from A to B. I thought that maybe it was a one-off, but they got outfought against Stoke. You can’t be bullied around.

Does Arsène Wenger deserve to be criticised?

Dixon: He will privately criticise himself. I feel he will look at the team and say he hasn’t quite got the balance right, but I don’t think he’d change an awful lot because I know what he thinks about this team and he still believes it can be successful.

Dalglish: I can’t see how you can criticise Wenger. Honestly, it’s crazy. To question Wenger with what he’s done for Arsenal and what they’re capable of producing is stupidity.

Is Wenger unsackable?

Dixon: No, there’s no manager bigger than the club. The thing is, he sets his standards so high, he doesn’t like failure. At some point, something has to give.