Draw, Arsenal Help Liverpool Slide Aston Villa

Liverpool drew 1-1 against Arsenal in the English Premier League match. (X/@Arsenal)

JAKARTA - Arsenal helped Liverpool shift Aston Villa after the two teams drew 1-1 in a big match in the English Premier League at Anfield Stadium, Sunday, December 24 in the morning WIB. Arsenal again failed to break their record of never winning at Anfield since 2012. However, the draw in the big match confirmed the Gunners' position at the top of the standings just before Christmas.

Not only that, Arsenal at least gave Liverpool a gift. The draw helped the Reds reclaim the runner-up position previously controlled by Aston Villa.

The competition that entered the Christmas and New Year traditions week also brought a small surprise when Villa, who played at home, failed to continue their winning streak. Villa was actually detained by the bottom team of Sheffield United 1-1.

The draw thwarted The Villans' attempt to top the table. Unai Emery's side could only shift Liverpool and match Arsenal's points.

But then Liverpool took back that position. Both have points 39, but Liverpool are ahead on goal difference over Villa.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are still firm at the top of the standings with 40 points. Although it has not been able to break the record at Anfield, Arsenal have won five of the last seven matches.

Another interesting note, 10 of the 14 teams that topped the table on Christmas, won the league. Only the competition is still far away and the competition for the top position is heating up again with Villa's presence.

Meanwhile, defending champions Manchester City have been knocked out of the top four. Man City, who has just won the Club World Cup, is in fifth place with 34 points. However, The Cityzens still have one delayed match

The big match from Liverpool against Arsenal, which is the top two Premier League teams, is indeed going to be interesting. No less manager Arsenal Mikel Arteta calls it an extraordinary match. Both teams performed with high intensity. They took turns attacking the opponent's defense.

"A very interesting match. One of the high-intensity matches I have seen in the last 20 years in this league," Arteta told the BBC.

"In a few moments, we are the superior. Over the last 20 minutes, we really want to get more. But this draw is fair," he said.

Arsenal performed well and immediately kicked off Liverpool's defense when they started the match. As a result, the game had only been running for four minutes, the North London club had immediately taken the lead through centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.

The goal started with captain Martin Odergaard's free kick from outside the penalty box which Gabriel greeted.

Nothing was in the way when the Brazilian national team defender jumped to welcome the top ball from Odegaard.

Liverpool player, Cody Gakpo lost in an aerial duel so Gabriel's header slid into the corner without being saved by goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Left behind 1-0, Liverpool immediately swerved. They got up and played more aggressively to catch up. It didn't take long for Liverpol to equalize the score.

In the 29th minute, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah brilliantly broke into Arsenal's goal. He met Trent Alexander-Arnold's long pass and then easily tricked defender Oleksandr Zinchenko before firing a shot into the net.

This is Salah's 151st goal. This Egyptian national team player also became the 10th player as the top scorer in Premier League history. The 1-1 draw lasted until the end of the first half.

In the second half, Liverpoo continued to attack. They hope to get a penti gift when Odegaard is judged to be handball in the forbidden box. But the referee allowed the incident.

Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold's shot still hit the post. From Arsenal, Bukayo Saka had threatened The Pool's goal. It's just that his shot was still wide.

In that match, Liverpool lost mainstay defender Kostas Tsimikas who was injured after physical contact with Saka.

Tsimikas then fell on Jurgen Klopp's manager who also collapsed. As a result, Tsimikas suffered an injury and had to be pulled out

Until the end of the match, the score did not change 1-1. Klopp admitted that Arsenal played very well and made it difficult for his team.

"Oh God. How strong are they. The good news is we are also playing well," said Klopp.

"In a game like this, it wasn't easy when we conceded first in the early minutes. Moreover, Arsenal have speed. But how do we play in the second half, we should be able to add goals. Whatever, this match is very good," he said.

Liverpool closed the match on Christmas Day with a draw. This is for the second time in a row Liverpool have drawn in domestic competitions.

Previously, they were detained by Manchester United 0-0 Despite failing to win the top spot, Liverpool could keep their points apart from Arsenal.