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.
That can of course come. In many ways, as enjoyably excellent as this game became, it was maybe natural that a match between two of the three best sides in the Premier League ended up showcasing some remaining flaws in each other. That’s what they bring out in each other, as well as brilliance like the two goals. The exacting level from these huge matches.
It is still all dependent on what type of campaign this season will develop into. It is why City will maybe look at it more positively than either team. They haven’t lost out too much from this week away in Saudi Arabia winning the Club World Cup.
As to whether it will lead to the club again winning the Premier League, it feels like absolutely everything about this campaign is contingent on whether they put together one of those runs. They certainly aren’t convincing right now, but who would doubt Pep Guardiola fixing their issues? The Club World Cup may even serve as the reset that their great rivals Manchester United enjoyed in the first expanded tournament in Brazil back in 1999-2000.
That will also dictate whether Liverpool are ready to win the title. This game again illustrated how the foundation of a fine second Jurgen Klopp team is there but they are missing elements. They are naturally nowhere near as decisive yet as the German’s 2019-20 Premier League winners. They have more scorers they can use, yes, but less truly devastating quality around Mohamed Salah.
Cody Gakpo has such promise but, at this point in his career, it feels like he is steadily a couple of tiers under the elite. He can be very good but you’re not going to really fear him. Darwin Nunez’s ceiling seems much higher, but his execution can also drop so much lower. You don’t really know what you’re going to get.
That may not matter if any City drop-off ensures this is a season where the league will be won with just over 80 points. If it goes closer to 90, though, it feels like Arsenal are better set to now rise to that challenge. This team now has that experience, as well as extra quality.
Gabriel scores the opener for Arsenal— (Getty Images)
That may seem a surprise given how most of this match went, but this was Anfield. Arsenal did ultimately come away with a point from a game away to a side that previously had one of the best home records in the Premier League.
The game fostered that sense of Liverpool not yet being capable of taking chances.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s performance was again a concern after his display against Manchester United, and it now feels like he could do with a refresh. The Hungarian has, until December, had a fine first season at Liverpool, where he has clearly been crucial to fuelling Klopp’s side. But he might have been giving it too much, as could be seen from more misplaced passes that were so conspicuous for just how imprecise they were.
Martin Odegaard of Arsenal runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Curtis Jones of Liverpool— (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s goalscorer, it should be stressed, did a superb job of disrupting Liverpool more. William Saliba was commanding, really strengthening Arteta’s core along with Declan Rice. You can see how the former West Ham United midfielder was worth the price. In games like this, it often looks like he is playing multiple positions at once.
Arsenal generally had a strange performance where they were often convincing and looked so compelling in the back-and-forth as the game developed, but there were a series of individual displays that were below par.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is pulled back by Oleksandr Zinchenko of Arsenal— (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Oleksandr Zinchenko, more than anyone, had one of his most testing games in an Arsenal shirt. That wasn’t all his fault. Salah looked in the kind of mood where he wanted to destroy, and in the kind of form that recalled his 2018 and 2022 best. There have been more reminders of that in the last few months. He has gone from a ruthless finisher to a roaming playmaker. Zinchenko gradually got a handle on his game, but never on Salah.
The moment that eventually cost Arsenal came from the Egyptian exploiting that. Kai Havertz meanwhile had one of those matches where he seems to counter every three brilliant touches with one inexplicable one. An attempted strike near the end of the game was bizarre, not least in the way he tried to take it.
It is still a measure of Havertz’s improvement and impact that this was noticed, and that Arsenal will now miss him through suspension against West Ham United.
Salah scores another brilliant goal for the Reds— (AP)
For all the discussion about how these two sides might be short of a certain quality, that shouldn’t be at the expense of one key point.
This was a superb match, played at an exceptional level. It was especially enthralling in that coruscating last 20 minutes. The tension between both sides being content with a point but wanting more, while being wary of what the opposition could do, greatly enriched it.
It’s possible Arsenal need at least one more player to complete this team, and maybe three more for the squad as a whole. Liverpool, meanwhile, need development.
All of that is dependent on what kind of season this is, though. There was no doubt about the quality of the game.
