3 Positives and negatives from Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool

Arsenal played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday evening. First-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes in the 4th minute and Mohamed Salah's excellent finish after the half-hour ensured the top two in the Premier League remained unchanged heading into Christmas.

Both sides had chances to seal all three points but missed in a fixture that would have given advantage to either of the sides in the title race.

Let’s look at the positives and negatives from the game.

3 positives & negatives from Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Liverpool

Positives #1: Fast start

Arsenal have not started games as fast as they did last season but have developed the habit of scoring late goals to win matches. But at Anfield, the Gunners came out smoking, pushing Liverpool all the way and were rewarded when Gabriel scored from Odegaard’s free-kick in only three minutes and 27 seconds of the game. The fast start to the game may have come from Mikel Arteta’s approach when he talked about silencing the home crowd by taking the game to the host.

But it was a welcome sight for Arsenal to have the balls to go to Anfield and start the way they did. That’s a positive for me.

Negatives #1: Zinchenko woes continues

How many times are we going to complain about Oleksandr Zinchenko and his defensive lapses? A ton? Yet, he is still a very valuable member of the squad and the advantage he brings to the team is immense. This game would have been a Tomiyasu or Timber’s game if the pair were fit.

It is common knowledge in the Premier League that the Ukrainian is not strong defensively, and coming up against one of the best wingers in world football was always going to be challenging. I thought he dealt well with Salah but Trent Alexander-Arnold kept sending that wicked long ball to Salah and it caused him problems. He continues to struggle defensively and should be a big worry for Mikel Arteta.

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