FA PREMIERSHIP:ARSENAL - 1 LIVERPOOL - 1:The championship did not look very open here yesterday. All that happened was Arsenal and Liverpool were apparently doing their best to make an open-and-shut case for Manchester United retaining the Premiership title.
An indifferent draw has left both in the familiar position of looking up the table and hoping the champions are not about to stride away over the horizon. There is still little in it - again a mere three points separate the first five teams - but there was no escaping the impression that United going top after lunch had instilled in Arsenal and Liverpool a renewed sense of foreboding for afternoon tea.
Liverpool have won only one of their past eight league matches, but still took more satisfaction from a result achieved through a considerably more resilient performance than their players had given in losing 2-0 at Southampton four nights earlier.
And having drawn level through John Arne Riise within six minutes of Fredrik Ljungberg giving the Arsenal the lead, they even managed to finish looking marginally more likely to score a late winner.
For Arsenal the match brought little but frustration, and to Liverpool's credit the effectiveness with which they denied Arsene Wenger's side the space and time their football demands was responsible for much of it. In addition, Arsenal's passing struggled to achieve that combination of pace, precision and patience that at Highbury usually enables them to break down the most obdurate defences.
In prospect the match offered an extravaganza of attacking excellence given the presence of Thierry Henry and Nwankwo Kanu up front for Arsenal, while the new partnership of Michael Owen and Nicolas Anelka has, in theory at least, given Liverpool one of the swiftest strike forces in Europe.
The dull reality was that neither pair seriously disturbed the opposing centre-backs throughout the game. Henry spent a lot of the time drifting out to Arsenal's left, and for Liverpool Anelka frequently had to come deep to provide a link between the midfield and Owen.
Midfield was where much of the game stagnated. The danger threatened by the speed on the break of Henry and Owen kept the attacking inclinations of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Arsenal's Patrick Vieira in check.
At least Arsenal achieved some penetration on the wings. Until Emile Heskey came off the bench for the last 25 minutes to operate wide on the right, most of Liverpool's attacks involved either artless high balls aimed towards Owen and Anelka or movements that struggled to progress through a crowded middle.
The longer the game progressed the more Arsenal missed the ability of their regular full backs, Lauren, away with Cameroon in the African Nations Cup, and the suspended Ashley Cole, to press forward on the overlap, supporting Robert Pires and Ljungberg and providing the sort of centres that would have put more pressure on the Liverpool defence.
The late appearance of Lee Dixon for the injured Oleg Luzhny promised Arsenal something better, although by then they were nervously clinging to one point rather than pursuing three.
Yet had Ljungberg not wasted the simplest of chances midway through the first half Arsenal might well have exploited Liverpool's need to come out of their shell much earlier than they eventually did. A pass from Kanu sent the Swede clear but, after neatly rounding Jerzy Dudek, Ljungberg dragged his shot wide.
It took the introduction of Dennis Bergkamp, who replaced Kanu 10 minutes into the second half, to restore life to Arsenal's attack. Two minutes past the hour the Dutchman's control of a dropping ball outwitted Jamie Carragher and Pires made a late run into the area to collect Bergkamp's pass before setting up Ljungberg to score from close range.
A win for Arsenal beckoned but, six minutes later, the combination of Gerrard's astute long pass and a prodigious dash on the left by Riise caught them on the break. The Norwegian made a beeline for goal and beat Stuart Taylor with a low shot inside the near post.
"We don't expect to be caught like that after leading 1-0 with just under 20 minutes to go," Wenger observed ruefully.
Now Arsenal will probably go to Leeds next Sunday needing a win just to keep up.
ARSENAL: Taylor, Luzhny (Dixon 85), Campbell, Keown, Upson, Pires (Wiltord 78), Vieira, Grimandi, Ljungberg, Henry, Kanu (Bergkamp 55). Subs Not Used: Edu, Wright. Booked: Vieira. Goals: Ljungberg 62.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Murphy (Heskey 66), Hyypia, Henchoz, Riise, Hamann, Gerrard, Berger, Carragher, Anelka (McAllister 85), Owen. Subs Not Used: Kirkland, Wright, Litmanen. Booked: Hamann. Goals: Riise 68.
Referee: S Dunn (Bristol).
