Entertaining Liverpool-Arsenal draw benefits Man City most in title race

LIVERPOOL, England — Saturday offered a titanic tussle between two teams with genuine title aspirations, and only a point will separate Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League on Christmas Day, but there was only one winner after this clash at Anfield: Manchester City.

Liverpool have now dropped four points in their last two home games, with this 1-1 draw following the 0-0 stalemate against Manchester United last Sunday. For the first time since Oct. 2021, Jurgen Klopp’s team has gone two games without a league win at home. Meanwhile Arsenal will regard a point at Anfield as a good one — any title-winning side would be happy avoiding defeat away to Liverpool — though Mikel Arteta’s side has now taken just one point from two away games, having lost to Aston Villa earlier this month.

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Reigning champions City have shown in recent seasons that they are capable of ruthlessly taking advantage of any slips by their rivals in the title race. Having flown to Saudi Arabia last week for the FIFA Club World Cup knowing that they could be faced with a double-digit points deficit when they return to league action at Everton on Dec. 27, the reality is that Pep Guardiola’s side is a mere six points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.

Liverpool could move eight points clear of City by winning at Burnley on Dec. 26, but Klopp’s team will then have played two more games than the champions. While Anfield witnessed a pulsating game between two teams on the rise, it ended as a missed opportunity for both and a night when the weaknesses of both sides were evident — weaknesses that could yet cost them the title.

“An unbelievable game of football,” Arsenal manager Arteta said. “It was one of the most intense I’ve witnessed in 20 years in this league. For many moments we were on top, in the last 20 minutes we wanted it more, but a draw is a fair result.”

Liverpool manager Klopp had a similar take on the quality of the game. “Oh my god, how strong are [Arsenal]?” Klopp said. “The good news is we are good as well.”

Being good isn’t good enough, though. To stop City becoming the first English club to win four successive league titles, it will take an exceptional side — one that is capable of turning draws into wins. Liverpool and Arsenal both have the capability to do that, and this game showed why, but it also showed how they could fall short.

First, the good bits. Arsenal are an incredibly bold team under Arteta and they play without fear. Many teams visit Anfield and prepare for the worst, but this Arsenal side of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba took the game to Liverpool and were rewarded inside four minutes when defender Gabriel headed them into the lead from Martin Odegaard’s free kick.

Klopp had urged the Liverpool fans to come alive and make Anfield a wall of noise after the midweek Carabao Cup win against West Ham; the supporters answered his call, but Arsenal’s quick goal turned the volume down to zero.

Liverpool’s strength is their ability to wear teams down with their attacking play, though, and they responded by going close through Mohamed Salah before being denied what seemed a clear penalty when Odegaard handled in the 18-yard box. VAR decided otherwise.

“The penalty situation is a weird situation, I don’t know if the ref can see it,” Klopp said. “But you look at it and I’m not sure how you can say it’s not a penalty.”

Within 10 minutes of that decision, Liverpool were level when a pinpoint long-range pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold caught out left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko and left Salah with a chance in the penalty area. The Egyptian national still had work to do from a narrow angle, but he beat the back-pedalling Zinchenko before guiding a left-foot shot beyond goalkeeper David Raya.

Salah is Liverpool’s greatest strength. The forward is the ultimate big-game player and you know, if fit, he will score the goals to keep the team in title contention. But after playing Newcastle at Anfield on New Year’s Day, Salah will fly out to Ivory Coast with Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations and might be absent for up to six weeks.

Without Salah, Liverpool are not the same team. They have forwards with great pace, movement and potential, but Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez are not anything close to Salah’s quality, while Diogo Jota continues to be troubled by injury.

Even when Salah isn’t scoring, he creates. Alexander-Arnold should have won the game when he was teed up by Salah at 73 minutes, but he instead shot against the crossbar.

How Liverpool cope without Salah will be crucial. Can they maintain their lead over City while he is away? That’s a tough call, and it remains to be seen who could step up and fill that void.

Arsenal also have their problems. Zinchenko highlighted their lack of quality at left-back, while Ben White is also limited at right-back. Gabriel Jesus is an honest worker, but if Arsenal can sign Brentford‘s Ivan Toney in January, the England forward could be a game-changer for Arteta’s side. The big question is whether Arsenal have the money to sign a player who could propel them to the title.

Coping without Salah is Liverpool’s uncertainty, prospering with Jesus is Arsenal’s. But right now, they are the Premier League’s top two teams and both are capable of winning the title.

Yet, they also both know that City are too close for comfort after this result.