Arsenal secured they will spend Christmas Day atop the Premier League after a dramatic 1-1 draw with championship rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s side grabbed an early lead thanks to Gabriel Magalhaes, but Mohamed Salah equalized for Liverpool before halftime.
A draw was undoubtedly the correct outcome as both teams demonstrated why they have emerged as the major contenders for the crown.
Arsenal are one point ahead of Liverpool in the race for the Premier League championship, which they have been chasing since 2004.
The club that leads the Premier League at Christmas has won the championship in six of the last ten seasons, but the draw on Merseyside boosted the pursuing pack.
Aston Villa are equal on points with Liverpool, Tottenham are three points behind, and champions Manchester City are six points behind the top with a game in hand.
Liverpool is undefeated in their last 11 meetings with Arsenal at Anfield.
However, this was another painful outcome for Jurgen Klopp’s squad, coming only a week after their goalless draw with Manchester United.
Arsenal were not quite happy either.
Last season, they led 2-0 against Liverpool but were held to a 2-2 draw, which triggered their title-race collapse.
Their inability to hold on this time should not have had such a severe repercussion, but it was still a squandered chance.
Klopp had asked Liverpool supporters to give Arsenal the “proper Anfield experience” after expressing dissatisfaction with the atmosphere during Wednesday’s 5-1 League Cup thrashing of West Ham.
The German suggested that those who were “not in the right shape” relinquish their tickets to “someone else,” but Arteta was well aware of the impending storm.
The visceral Anfield experience, according to Arteta, is akin to being tossed about in a “washing machine.”
The red tide
after response to Klopp, the Liverpool fans sang their hymn ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ as loudly as ever before kick-off, but Arsenal showed no fear after only 30 seconds.
A fluid play split the Liverpool defense and resulted in Gabriel Jesus’ shot bouncing narrowly over the bar.
It was a warning shot, and Arsenal seized the lead four minutes later.
Martin Odegaard fired a pinpoint free kick into the Liverpool box, and Gabriel rose to smash his header past Alisson Becker from eight yards.
In front of the Kop, the Brazilian defender celebrated by cupping his hands to his ears.
Anfield was taken aback but not silenced. Liverpool had fallen behind in eight previous Premier League games this season and had only lost one of them.
VAR controversially denied Liverpool a penalty after Odegaard handled in the area after sliding under pressure from Salah.
Salah took it upon himself to ensure Liverpool were not left to lament that questionable decision, scoring a magnificent equalizer in the 29th minute.
Salah was picked out on the right wing by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s raking ball, and he slid away from Oleksandr Zinchenko into the area before blasting a ferocious shot past David Raya at his near post.
After a fantastic first half, Arteta held his head as Gabriel Martinelli fired wide minutes after Saka went through on goal but failed to finish.
After the interval, Klopp’s men had the upper hand, with Joe Gomez shooting inches wide and Harvey Elliott’s long-range shot deflecting against the post.
In the 73rd minute, a break from an Arsenal corner culminated with Salah teeing up Alexander-Arnold, but the ball took a tiny bounce and his effort cannoned against the crossbar with only Raya to beat.
Gomez’s shot pulled a fine save from Raya as the relentless Red wave surged into the Kop, but Arsenal held on.