Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice says it was “chaos” when his team faced Liverpool at Anfield back in December.

The fixture ended 1-1 but, speaking to The Athletic, Rice claimed that, despite the intensity of the match, it was a game he “absolutely loved” playing in:

“The way they play, the football they play, it’s like a chaos game that they create. Balls in behind from Trent Alexander-Arnold constantly, picking up the second balls, re-delivering, second phase, third phase, fourth phase – they’re just relentless at it”

“At Anfield, especially the Kop End, goals get sucked in, but that game I absolutely loved.”

Klopp clearly appreciated Rice’s performance

As the midfielder says, Liverpool put in a great performance, especially after going 1-0 down but, ultimately the two sides shared the spoils, which was a fair reflection of the match.

Rice put in a particularly impressive display, to the extent that manager Jurgen Klopp went over to speak with him following the final whistle. Some Liverpool fans probably wish their club had spent £100m to bring him in from West Ham instead of the Gunners.

Liverpool will be keen to face Arsenal in another title race

The Reds were still in the mix for the title when they faced off against Arsenal at Anfield late last year, but subsequent results have shown that Klopp’s men were not quite good enough to sustain their challenge until the end of the season.

While the Merseysiders arguably have the squad to go and win the league next campaign, if they bring in one or two more players, a lot will depend on how Arne Slot fairs. The Dutchman has the unenviable task of replacing a club legend but, if he can get his team to go toe-to-toe with Arsenal and Manchester City, he will have done extremely well.