Wayne Rooney has suggested that the current season could be a make-or-break moment for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, with expectations mounting for him to secure a trophy.

This comes after Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, where Dominik Szoboszlai’s brilliant free-kick sealed the win for the hosts.

According to BBC Sports on Monday, Rooney was speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, where he was asked if this season is a defining one for Arsenal.

He responded, “Maybe not for the club itself, but for Arteta, I think so. He’s been backed with significant funds to bring in new players, and I believe the board and fans will expect him to challenge for the Premier League title. It’s a critical year for him.”

But the former England and Manchester United forward thinks Liverpool remains the favourite to win the Premier League this season.

“[Liverpool] are a very good team. “They’ve got the know-how and the knowledge of winning the league twice over the last few years. It’s a sign of a good team when you’re winning games,” he said.

Rooney added that he thought Arsenal should have shown more bravery at Anfield rather than setting up for games “to not lose them”.

“If they were just a little bit braver and went and actually took the game a bit more to Liverpool, I think they can go and win that,” he said.

“I think that’s a real chance missed for Arsenal today. But then I think Liverpool have done what champions do – they stayed in the game.”

The former England captain was speaking on his new podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, which airs twice weekly on BBC Sounds, YouTube, and iPlayer.