Arsenal and Liverpool's winners and losers as Salah shines and Zinchenko flops

23 December 2023 , 19:27

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Arsenal and Liverpool's winners and losers as Salah shines and Zinchenko flops

Arsenal made the trip to Liverpool aiming to end their Anfield hoodoo once and for all, having not won a league game the red half of Merseyside since 2012.

The Gunners enjoyed the dream start, with Gabriel Magalhaes heading home Martin Odegaard's free-kick inside the opening five minutes. Hearts were in mouths inside the away end, after the goal was subject to a brief VAR check, but eventually the goal was given.

The joy wasn't for too long however, as Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah fired the hosts level with a sensational left-footed strike after getting the better of Oleksandr Zinchenko. Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly be frustrated by the way in which the Reds drew level, but when Salah is in the mood few defenders stand a chance.

The second-half played out with plenty of tension, but very few chances bar one glaring miss from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Mirror Football has analysed the winners and losers from a thrilling draw at Anfield.

Winners

Declan Rice

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Declan Rice anchored Arsenal's midfield perfectly

Time and time again nowadays, Declan Rice is Arsenal's standout performer. It should come as little surprise, given his £105million transfer fee, but few signings hit the ground running in the way Rice has with the Gunners.

The former West Ham captain put in a combative display as the protector of Arsenal's backline, while also remaining composed in possession. His ability to sense danger and intercept promising opposition attacks is invaluable to the efforts of Arteta's side.

Rice was one of the few Arsenal players that recognised the need to play forward quickly in a bid to beat the Liverpool press and was argubaly let down by those around him when it came to sustaining attacking pressure.

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah's strike drew Liverpool level

The Liverpool forward would have seen ahead of kick-off that West Ham's Jarrod Bowen drew level with him in the scoring charts and knew he had to respond accordingly. Salah did exactly that, netting his 12th goal of the campaign in fantastic fashion.

Salah has shown time and time again throughout his Liverpool stay that if given the smallest window of opportunity, he can make teams pay. Once Oleksandr Zinchenko showed him onto his favoured right foot, there was only ever going to be one outcome.

He may not have had his best game last time out against Manchester United, but Salah was one of the stars of the show yet again against Arsenal.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of Liverpool's standout players

The Reds academy graduate has made sensational passes of just about every kind his trademark, but that curler with his right-foot that swings from out to in is particularly deadly.

Alexander-Arnold's assist was one that few other players in the Premier League could have pulled off, let alone make look so easy. There are often question marks over his defensive abilities, but he had the home faithful purring when he plucked an attacking Arsenal pass out of the sky and triggered a counter.

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In previous editions of this fixture, Gabriel Martinelli has had some joy out of Alexander-Arnold. The Reds right-back has, in the past, struggled to deal with the Brazilian's pace and trickery. This time around, he made light work of the battle before the Arsenal ace was hooked in the 68th minute.

With that being said, he'll be kicking himself over spurning one of the best chances he'll earn this season when Alexander-Arnold rattled the crossbar after a four on one chance.

Losers

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Oleksandr Zinchenko should have done more to prevent Mohamed Salah from scoring

The Arsenal ace has earned plenty of praise for what he contributes to the Gunners in an attacking sense, but his defensive fragilities were on full display for Liverpool's equaliser.

Zinchenko let Salah get the wrong side of him with ease, before flinging out a lazy leg to try and thwart the Egyptian in his tracks. Rather predictably, it didn't do the trick and Salah lashed home to spark the Anfield faithful into life.

Though there may be an argument that David Raya could have positioned himself more favourably, there can be no debate over how poorly Zinchenko handled his duties up against one of the league's most feared marksmen.

Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard did not have his best night in an Arsenal shirt (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The Arsenal captain was arguably the best player on the pitch against Brighton last week, but the drop in quality at Anfield was notable. Odegaard is usually so reliable in possession, but failed to help his side take the sting out of Liverpool's momentum with a prolonged spell on the ball.

The 25-year-old can consider himself very fourtunate that he didn't give a penalty away minutes before Liverpool's equaliser. Odegaard slipped and appeared to handle the ball as he attempted to keep himself upright, but both referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR spared his blushes.

Gabriel Martinelli

Gabriel Martinelli had little to no impact against Liverpool

Martinelli was Arsenal's most important outlet, given the manner in which Liverpool set-up. His pace and past showings against Alexander-Arnold would have given the travelling faithful optimism.

However, the young Brazilian failed to make his mark and was second best to Alexander-Arnold on a number of occasions. It wasn't just the right-back getting the better of him however, wasteful passes and sloppy touches marred Martinelli's display.

It came as little surprise when it was his number shown and he was withdrawn in place of Leandro Trossard with around 25 minutes still to play. His replacement was significantly more reliable with the ball at his feet, if not as quick.

Josh O'Brien