Arsenal remain top of the Premier League over Christmas for the second consecutive season after drawing 1-1 with Liverpool.
Gabriel’s fifth minute opener was cancelled out by Mohamed Salah midway through the first half in a frantic enounter between the league’s top two.
Here five things we learned from the match…
Mo Salah saves Liverpool once again
When Mohamed Salah slammed the ball past David Raya to bring Liverpool level against Arsenal, Anfield erupted. The Egyptian star’s tenth Premier League goal against the Gunners turned the game on its head, with Arsenal dominated the majority of the match up until that point. A constant threat to the Arsenal back-line, Salah was unlucky not to score more and will be a huge miss when he departs for AFCON at the start of 2024.
Mistakes galore in crazy match
A topsy turvy match, both teams were victims of their own undoing. Oleksandr Zinchenko turned his back on Mohamed Salah for Liverpool’s goal, whilst a miscommunication between Allison and Ibrahima Konate allowed Gabriel Jesus the opportunity to shoot inside the Reds’ box. Fortunately for the pair it drifted wide. The crazy nature of the match had people thinking that it could be a high scoring clash.
Declan Rice makes Arsenal tick
There is no denying that the £105 million Arsenal spent to secure the services of Declan Rice were money well spent. The England international put in another top class performance, making the Gunners tick from back to front. Always in the right place at the right time, Liverpool had no answer to the 24-year-old. As he showed a wave of calmness in the ensuing chaos happening around him.
Injuries sour Liverpool performance
In what had been a really good performance from Jurgen Klopp’s side against an Arsenal side who came to Anfield to fight, a pair of injuries soured the occasion. First, Konstantinos Tsimikas was forced off with an apparent shoulder injury after colliding with Klopp following a duel with Bukayo Saka. Then in the second half, Luis Diaz went down after a collision with Saka and the Colombian was unable to continue. Injury issues Liverpool could have done without.
Saka struggles to make impact
Arguably one of Arsenal’s best players this season, Bukayo Saka suffered a rare off day against Liverpool. The 21-year-old struggled to make an impact on the match, first against Konstantinos Tsimikas then the Greek’s replacement in Joe Gomez. Booked for a late challenge on Wataru Endo, the England international was fortunate not to receive a second yellow after a crunching challenge on Ryan Gravenberch.
