Arsenal fans were hoping this would be their season after putting pressure on Manchester City in each of the last two campaigns.
And with City reeling after four consecutive defeats in all competitions, this could have been their ideal opportunity.
But Liverpool are performing better than anyone could have imagined under new boss Arne Slot, with 28 points from a possible 33.
And the Gunners are nine points behind the leaders at the end of a weekend for the first time since the final day of 2022-23, when they finished 24 points behind Manchester City.
They looked dejected when the final whistle blew at Stamford Bridge.
Walcott said: “The difference with Arsenal at the moment is that they are lacking goals, while they don’t concede many, but at this stage of the season it is important to consider who they have played against.
“I would say that, so far, they have played against tougher teams: they have played six of last season’s top 10, and five of those games have been away from home.
“Also, most of the time they have been without their main player, Martin Odegaard, and they are still where they are.”
Captain Odegaard made his first Premier League appearance since August against Chelsea and assisted Gabriel Martinelli’s first goal.
Walcott added: “People tend to forget all that when they see that Arsenal are not playing at the same level as last year, but for me it is one of the reasons not to rule them out in the title race.”
Gunners legend Paul Merson, speaking on Sky Sports, said: “He [Arteta] You have to make sure that it is reduced to six points instead of reaching 12.
“I think they will do well if they catch Liverpool now. They could stay at nine until the end of December. If they get to 12 then it’s over.”
Can Arsenal do it? Well, history is not on their side.
Excluding teams with games in hand, no one has ever won the Premier League title after being nine (or more) points off the top with 11 games remaining.
Manchester City achieved it in 2013-14, but leaders Arsenal had played 12 games at that stage.
Speaking about his title rivals, Arteta said his team needs to “win, win, win, win, win, because these guys don’t stop winning.”
If they won all their remaining games this season they would finish with 100 points, and Liverpool’s current form would put them on course for 97 points.
