Attacking football comes at a high price for Arsenal and Liverpool

It was a case of Happy Christmas, love from the Premier League. 

A game between two teams who can’t defend and who won’t win the title this season; a game which felt less like football at times and more like a cross between basketball, five-a-side, and pinball; but a game which nevertheless provided the kind of adrenalin-filled, high octane, thrill-a-minute night even Santa Claus cannot deliver.

The post-match talk will be about poor defending — and, boy, was some of it poor — and of points dropped in the race to stay even within touching distance of the top two in a league which is running away from both Arsenal and Liverpool.