Gunners stay top of tree after Christmas cracker
Arsenal will spend Christmas top of the Premier League (PL) table for a second consecutive season after an enthralling 1-1 draw with title-chasing Liverpool at Anfield.
Playing for the chance to top the PL table at Christmas, Liverpool hosted an Arsenal side who had recently leapfrogged them in an increasingly intriguing title race. The Gunners had failed to win any of their last 10 league trips to Anfield, yet a lightning-fast start put them in a great position to end that dismal run. Positive from the off, the visitors claimed an early lead when Martin Ødegaard’s deep free-kick delivery was met by Gabriel Magalhães’ towering header, narrowly avoiding an offside call after a VAR check.
No side has claimed more points after going behind in the league this season than Liverpool, so it was perhaps unsurprising to see them draw level before the half-hour mark. Mohamed Salah volleyed his first chance into the side-netting but he made no mistake minutes later when latching onto Trent Alexander-Arnold’s searching long pass, skipping past Oleksandr Zinchenko with ease before firing high at David Raya’s near post. An entertaining first half ended with Bukayo Saka failing to get a shot away when through on goal, leaving Gabriel Martinelli to pull his effort wide.
It was end-to-end after the restart with the hosts looking the more likely to add to their goal tally. Salah was tormenting Zinchenko with direct runs as Anfield reached a feverish pitch, almost punctuated by a first-ever senior goal from substitute Joe Gomez, who curled inches wide of the target. Further openings came Liverpool’s way as they searched for a winner, striking the outside of the post via Harvey Elliot’s deflected shot before a golden opportunity on the counter was squandered. Breaking at pace from an Arsenal corner, Salah led the Reds’ offensive, yet with teammates queuing up, Alexander-Arnold directed a first-time effort onto the crossbar.
A thrilling contest ultimately ended all square - the 19th time in 23 PL H2Hs in which both sides have scored at Anfield. Despite failing to retake pole position, the Reds add to an extraordinary home record, making it 50 games without defeat from their last 51 (W38, D12). Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta will spend Christmas top of the league once again, with the chance to claim a 25th PL win of the calendar year for a second time in succession still a possibility - the first time Arsenal would have achieved that feat in their history.
