Arsenal still on top of EPL after drawing with Liverpool at Anfield
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Arsenal stayed on top of the English Premier League after holding on to draw Liverpool 1-1 at Anfield on Saturday.
Arsenal led through Gabriel’s fourth-minute header but Mohamed Salah evened the score in the 29th. Salah’s 151st Premier League goal moved him to 10th on the all-time list. Liverpool pressed hardest in the second half and hit the woodwork twice.
Mikel Arteta’s team will go into Christmas a point ahead of Liverpool.
Defending champion Manchester City is likely happiest with the result after seeing two of its title rivals drop points.
City, which fell to fifth while it was away winning the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia this week, is six points behind Arsenal with a game in hand.
Another title challenger, Aston Villa, also dropped points with a surprise 1-1 draw against Sheffield United on Friday. Villa was third on goal difference.
Liverpool has drawn back-to-back games in the league against Manchester United and Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp’s team had the better chances to win on Saturday; Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the bar in the second half with only Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to beat. Substitute Harvey Elliott also hit the post with a deflected shot from outside the box.
It was at Anfield that Arsenal’s title challenge began to falter last season, when Arteta’s team squandered an early 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in April.
The London side was ahead first again after a flying start that appeared to catch Liverpool cold.
Gabriel Jesus had already seen an effort deflected over the bar when he opened the scoring.
The defender was sharp in the box and lost his marker Ibrahima Konate before heading Martin Odegaard’s free kick into the top corner.
Liverpool prevented further damage and evened the score through a brilliant goal from Salah.
Alexander-Arnold launched a long-range pass from his own half that landed perfectly for the run of the Egypt international on the right. Salah then turned Oleksandr Zinchenko in the box before lashing a shot in the top corner of Raya’s near post.
Liverpool thought it should have had a penalty before that when Odegaard appeared to handle inside the box, but the Arsenal captain escaped punishment.
Liverpool mounted pressure in the second half with substitute Elliott hitting the post and Alexander-Arnold then firing against the bar from close range.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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