Arsenal showed the resilience of champions as they left title rivals Liverpool with the point they needed to be the Premier League’s Christmas No 1.
Mikel Arteta’s side were also top a year ago before falling away to finish runners-up against Manchester City, but the Spaniard believes this time could be different after surviving a hostile test at Anfield.
‘It was an unbelievable game. One of the most intense I’ve seen in 20 years,’ said the Gunners boss. ‘For the players to show the courage and determination, it is a big credit to them.
‘It shows a lot of consistency for this group to do it for two years. We are where we want to be in the league right now. We will have a beautiful family Christmas.
‘In the last 20 minutes we were willing to win it. If we have to improve anywhere it’s killing games with the dominance we are showing. Nothing else.’
Gabriel Martinelli scored in the opening four minutes of the game to give Arsenal an early lead
Mikel Arteta lauded his players after the 1-1 draw for showing ‘courage and determination’
Liverpool hit back soon after with Mohamed Salah scoring from a tight angle to equalise
The Kop was rocking after Jurgen Klopp’s gee-up for more noise and the roof nearly came off when Mo Salah cancelled out Gabriel’s early header.
Liverpool were denied a penalty when Martin Odegaard handled and Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the crossbar following a five-man breakaway, but Arsenal dug in to move a point clear of Liverpool and Aston Villa at the top.
Last season, Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead at Anfield in April to put the death knell on their title ambitions, but Liverpool boss Klopp is certain the Gunners are genuine contenders. ‘Oh my god, how strong are they?’ he exclaimed.
‘We could have won, maybe should have won. Trent hitting the crossbar should have been a goal. It was two really good football teams. Super intense.’
Klopp felt VAR should have instructed referee Chris Kavanagh to review his monitor in the first half when Odegaard fell onto the ball with his hand and Salah standing next to him appealed.
It was Salah’s 12th Premier League goal of the season with the Egyptian now two goals behind Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race
The draw means that Arsenal will stay top of the Premier League at Christmas ahead of Liverpool by a point
‘The penalty situation is weird. I don’t know if the ref can see it, but you look at it and I’m not sure how it’s not a penalty,’ he said.
Klopp was also sent tumbling at one point by Kostas Tsimikas who fell into him after being challenged by Bukayo Saka. It was later confirmed that Tsimikas has broken a collarbone.
Arteta had compared playing at Anfield with being ‘in a washing machine’, but his players avoided that dizzying feeling. ‘We are better defensively now,’ Saka said. ‘Special shout out to our centre back pairing Willie [Saliba] and Gabbi [Gabriel]. I thought they were top.’
How did the red arrows miss this?
With Arsenal having committed most of their team to a second-half attack, Liverpool won back possession in their own half and Mo Salah led four team-mates towards goal like a squadron of Red Arrows.
How did the red arrows miss this? Liverpool had a huge chance to score against Arsenal in the second-half, breaking on the gunners with their key forwards like a squadron of Red Arrows
However, with the Gunners scrambling to get men back and thwart the visitors — Zinchenko and Odegaard collided with each other outside the Reds box — Salah passed right to Trent Alexander-Arnold… who fired his shot against the crossbar.
The England man will argue the ball bobbled before he shot, but it was the big chance that got away for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Mail Online
