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.
