FORGET EL CLASICO, ARSENAL-LIVERPOOL SHOWS WHY PREMIER LEAGUE IS THE MOST ENTERTAINING IN THE WORLD

It may have been strewn with errors but the action-packed 3-3 draw at the Emirates summed up everything that is so attractive about English footballThere were 366 seconds between Liverpool going 2-0 up at the Emirates on Friday night and Arsenal storming back to move 3-2 ahead. That remarkable statistic proves just why the Premier League is the most entertaining league in the world.

As the scoreline changed so quickly and so dramatically, so too did the momentum of the game and each team’s confidence, transforming what had been a one-sided encounter into a Christmas cracker. It eventually ended 3-3 but either side could have won it at the death.

Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Jurgen Klopp’s scintillating ‘Fab Four’ all starred in attack at various intervals.

Sanchez and Ozil netted vital goals in Arsenal's stunning turnaround, while Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah took advantage of the huge gaps in midfield to repeatedly hit Arsenal on the counter-attack – and not for the first time this season either.

Of course, we all knew beforehand that Friday night’s clash had all the makings of a good game. Goals were almost guaranteed. But the meeting of the fifth- and fourth-placed teams in England's top flight actually succeeded in surpassing expectations.

 Some would prefer box sets or mince pies, while others will spend their time playing virtual football on a games console, but what unfolded over 94 absorbing minutes in north London was undoubtedly the perfect Christmas present for football fans all over the world.

The game encapsulated everything good – and bad – about English football, which is precisely why it is so popular across the globe.

Gaps in midfield, players being dispossessed with ease and a 20-year-old central midfielder playing at left-back going up against 20-goal Egyptian forward Salah in a one-on-one duel – there was just so much to talk about.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles was handed his third consecutive Premier League start and while the other two had culminated in clean sheets against West Ham and Newcastle, the Englishman did his hopes of a long run in the first team no harm at all in an insane 3-3 draw.

Admittedly, he made mistakes, particularly from a defensive perspective but, then, so too did every other player on the pitch – and that's precisely the point.  

There was a certainly a lack of quality at the back yet the attacking talent on display helped conjure up a match which will be watched in highlights packages for years to come.

It was the perfect advertisement for the Premier League, which is just so frenetic that it cannot help but produce an abundance of errors and even more excitement.

Superlatives can’t always do games justice but this one was superb, unbelievable and quite stunning to watch. Neither team will challenge for the Premier League title this season, given their all-too-obvious flaws, but that is a debate for another evening.

Instead, after this most dramatic of draws, it is best just to bask in the glory of a most ridiculously wonderful reminder of why the Premier League remains the most entertaining in the world