Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta shared his opinion on that Liverpool performance against his side at Anfield on Saturday. The Reds drew 1-1 in the Premier League.
Liverpool went into the fixture against Arsenal this weekend knowing it was one of the biggest all season. In fact, fans on our Twitter judged it to be an even bigger game than against Manchester United.
Whoever won the game would be top at Christmas after all, and Aston Villa's draw on Friday assured a draw would keep Arsenal 1st and Liverpool 2nd in case of a draw. And that, of course, was what transpired.
Liverpool conceded very early on to a Gabriel header - poor marking letting the team down. But Mohamed Salah managed to equalise before half-time with a fantastic goal. That's his 151st in the Premier League, making him the all-time 10th top scorer in competition history.
There were chances to find a winner from both sides but particularly the home side. A 5-v-1 at the back allowed for Trent Alexander-Arnold to have a golden opportunity but he crashed his effort off the bar.
The points were split, then, and that keeps the title race as tight as ever going into the second half of the season. There's definitely some disappointment from both teams, though, as this was a chance to make a statement.
Mikel Arteta isn't disappointed, however. He comes away thrilled with his team, believing they came up against one of Liverpool's best performance of the season.
"It was an unbelievable game," he said, per Melissa Reddy. "One of the most intense I've witnessed here in 20 years. To have the courage and belief to play like we did here, I think our players deserve big, big credit.
"It was one of the best performances I’ve seen from Liverpool this year"
Liverpool were a mixed bag, in truth. The midfield, in particular, struggled to force themselves on the game like we saw against West Ham.
In fact, few would claim this was even Liverpool's best performance of the week. It instead feels like a missed opportunity to take three points from a challenger.
But it certainly wasn't an awful performance - it's just one that should really be Liverpool's minimum. Hopefully, we see something even greater when the Reds meet Arsenal in the FA Cup next month.
