Arsenal will be top of the Premier League table at Christmas for the second straight season after their 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday evening.
Premier League
Result: Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
Date: 23 December 2023
Venue: Anfield
Alisson Becker, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate returned to the Reds' line-up, while the Gunners were unchanged from their win over Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.
The Gunners got off to the perfect start after opening the scoring four minutes when Gabriel nodded a free-kick from Martin Odegaard for his first goal of the campaign.
Jurgen Klopp's men were eager to get back on level terms as the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz saw more of the ball out on the wings, but they were unable to trouble goalkeeper David Raya.
The home side got their reward in the 29th minute as Salah latched onto a superb ball from Alexander-Arnold before cutting onto his left and rifling the ball past Raya.
In doing so, the Egyptian forward moved into tenth position on the Premier League's all-time scoring list with 151 goals, surpassing former Reds striker Michael Owen.
The second half continued in similar fashion to the first, although Liverpool were more in control and were unlucky not to go ahead when Joe Gomez sent a curling strike just wide of Raya's upright.
Both coaches opted for substitutions after the hour mark, as the Reds threw on Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliot and Ryan Gravenberch while the Gunners withdrew Gabriel Martinelli for Leandro Trossard.
Liverpool should have taken the lead after 73 minutes when Salah broke on a swift counter attack and teed up an un-marked Alexander-Arnold, who sent his shot against the crossbar with only Raya to beat.
Both sides pushed for a winning goal in the latter stages of the second half , but neither were able to carve out another big chances as the spoils were shared on the night.
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