Liverpool vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction as Gunners stay top for Christmas
Jurgen Klopp was left frustrated in a 1-1 draw as Mikel Arteta’s side stayed top of the Premier League for Christmas
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Liverpool were held by first-placed Arsenal to 1-1 at Anfield in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal led through Gabriel's fourth-minute header but Mohamed Salah evened the score in the 29th. Salah's 151st Premier League goal moved him to 10th on the all-time list. Liverpool pressed hardest in the second half and hit the woodwork twice. Mikel Arteta's team will go into Christmas at the top of the standings, with Liverpool a point behind in second.
Defending champion Manchester City is likely happiest with the result after seeing two of its title rivals drop points. City, which fell to fifth while it was away winning the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia this week, is six points behind Arsenal with a game in hand.
Another title challenger, Aston Villa, also dropped points with a surprise 1-1 draw against Sheffield United on Friday. Liverpool has drawn back-to-back games in the league against Manchester United and Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp's team had the better chances to win on Saturday; Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the bar in the second half with only Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to beat. Substitute Harvey Elliott also hit the post with a deflected shot from outside the box. Relive all the action from the blog below and get all the latest football odds and tips here.
Liverpool facing left-back injury crisis as Kostas Tsimikas injury is confirmed
Kostas Tsimikas faces a lengthy lay-off with a broken collarbone as Liverpool’s injury problems leave then without both of their senior left-backs.
The Greece international was hurt in the first half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp expects he will be out for months.
Andy Robertson could be out until the end of January as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder. The Scotland captain is back in training but unlikely to return for another month.
Tsimikas’ injury came in freak circumstances when he was nudged by Bukayo Saka and collided with Klopp himself as well as the ground.
The Liverpool manager said: “Of course it effected me. I had no pain but thought maybe Kostas was going to be fine. I would happily give my collarbone for him to be fit again. It is not cool when something like that happens in front of you and you are involved in that, I was not sure what even happened or if I fell on him. It is not nice to see.
Liverpool facing left-back injury crisis as Tsimikas injury confirmed
Bukayo Saka’s challenge saw the Reds’ defender collide with Jurgen Klopp, ending in a lengthy lay-off
Liverpool close to free-flowing best but Arsenal draw exposes missing elements
A fine game, but perhaps the best result for the title race as a whole. Through that, it was maybe better for Manchester City than anyone else, too.
Liverpool, for the second big home match in a row, will believe they again left the full three points on the pitch. That will especially be the case every time they look at that break that ended with Trent Alexander-Arnold hitting the bar.
That’s also why Arsenal will ultimately be happier with the result. It just might still linger that they would like that big away win to really propel their campaign. Mikel Arteta’s side are top at Christmas, but not quite fully on top form. This draw displayed there’s now real substance, much more than last season. There isn’t, however, that elevated attacking coherence the league knows they can produce.
Liverpool close to free-flowing best but Arsenal draw exposes missing elements
Jurgen Klopp’s side were exceptional in moments, but still need development to return to the heights of 2019/20, with Arsenal’s flaws also on display in a thriller at Anfield
Liverpool and Arsenal’s breathless stalemate leaves one true winner in title race
Anfield, Mikel Arteta had said, is like a washing machine. The broader problem for Arsenal and Liverpool alike now is the winning machine. The victor seemed not Pep Guardiola’s greatest rival nor his former assistant but Guardiola himself. Jurgen Klopp and Arteta are taking different ways to try and depose the Manchester City manager as champion but, as their sides battered each other to a standstill, the eventual beneficiaries may prove the side who had triumphed in Saudi Arabia a day earlier. No one is accelerating away from the Club World Cup winners in the title race.
A high-speed spin of a game suggested the top two now may take, in some order, the podium places in May. In an evening overflowing with entertainment, Liverpool and Arsenal looked evenly matched in contrasting, compelling ways. Arsenal had the set-piece prowess and the flying start, Liverpool the exquisite equaliser and so nearly the winner to reinforce their reputation as comeback kings.
Their experience of competing with City for titles has taught them how narrow the margins can be. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s match included an extraordinary assist but the abiding image may be of Liverpool streaking clear, Mohamed Salah leading a break of five attackers against two, heavily-outnumbered defenders, releasing the vice-captain and seeing him slam his shot against the bar.
Liverpool and Arsenal’s breathless stalemate leaves one true winner in title race
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal: Mohamed Salah cancelled out Gabriel Magalhaes’ opener, but Man City, newly-crowned as Club World Cup champions, will welcome this result in the title race
FT - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
Gary Neville says the Gunners will be pleased, though questions still remain.
“Arsenal will be happy, it’s a step forward getting a point at Anfield. The question remains up top, in the tight games have they got the strikers to take them past teams?
“They are right were they want to be, in title races and they’re on track to do that.”
FT - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
Liverpool will arguably look back at both a non-awarded penalty and, more importantly, that missed chance on the counter attack as their biggest opportunities to win. Salah freed Alexander-Arnold but his first time shot hit the crossbar, not the net.
Arsenal, for their part, could have scored twice in the first half, with Martinelli firing wide with Alisson out of his goal.
FT - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
The Gunners stay first then, with Liverpool moving up to second, above Aston Villa on goal difference and one point behind their opponents today.
It sets things up for an intriguing second half of the campaign at the top, with the midway point of match 19 coming for most teams across Boxing Day.
Perhaps Man City won today?
FT - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
No great last chance, no dramatic twist at the top in the end.
A floated pass creates no danger and Raya picks up the ball - the whistle goes and it’s another draw.
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal - the Gunners stay top of the table!
90+4 - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
Final instances of stoppage time. A debate ongoing for the best centre-back of the game, with all four of them arguably in the running for man of the match today.
Looks like the points will be shared today - and that means Arsenal will be staying top of the table.
90+1 - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
Five minutes added on at Anfield.
Both teams look to be slightly running short of creative ideas, with Arsenal now arguably making more direct running and Liverpool’s attack bereft of link-up play since Jones and Diaz departed.
Saka cuts in and shoots; it’s deflected wide for a corner.
88 - Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
Nketiah is next in the book for going in late on Endo. Then it’s Saka who goes in late on Gravenberch andthe home fans want a second yellow for the winger - but he’s clearly just lost his footing and slides into the Dutchman. That’s not a second booking and the ref doesn’t give one out.
Heading towards the final minute of the game and neither goalkeeper has faced a big chance in this last portion of the match.
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