SOCCER/ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:XABI ALONSO was not in the mood for platitudes as he trudged out of Stamford Bridge last week, feeling little of the pride in Liverpool's stirring showing against Chelsea and all of the hurt from their Champions League exit.

“It is good that we are scoring a lot of goals,” the Spain international said that night. “But we conceded a lot as well.” After an uncomfortable silence, however, he did find some positives. “We are in a good moment in the Premier League, and we have to keep that moment.”

Liverpool’s accuracy in front of goal suggests that is well within Rafael Benitez’s team in their quest for the title.

Arsenal arrive at Anfield tonight depleted and with the added problem of containing a Liverpool side that has hit a productive patch in the final third.

Their past eight matches in all competitions have yielded 25 goals, a dramatic improvement on the nine that arrived in the preceding eight games, and Benitez’s team enter their final six games having scored more than any other team in the division. Only Chelsea have had more shots per game during this campaign.

However, they will be without captain Steven Gerrard tonight as the midfielder is expected to remain sidelined for another seven to 10 days with a groin problem having sat out the last two matches.

Liverpool’s recovery has followed the anaemic 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough on February 28th, when their performance level could not sink any further and Benitez found himself back on familiar territory of admitting the Champions League represented salvation to their season.

There has been no dramatic shift in tactics, formation or personnel over the past eight games and Liverpool would prefer to keep their explanation for the transformation in-house. “We’ve studied it, but I’m not going to give you our findings,” Sammy Lee, the assistant manager, said yesterday.

The supreme form of Gerrard and Fernando Torres at the start of this recent run, penalties, Andrea Dossena emerging from hibernation with two breakaway goals in consecutive games and suddenly fragile opponents – as was the case against Real Madrid, Manchester United and Aston Villa – have all contributed to Liverpool’s impressive goal tally.

One of Benitez’s favoured, and justifiable, statistics used to counter the accusation he is cautious by nature is that Liverpool scored 119 goals last season. “More than any team in England,” he boasted. “We are very well-organised as a team and when a team is like this it is seen as being less offensive. We have a very good balance.”

Lee was not forthcoming with his own theories on Liverpool’s recent strike-rate other than to state: “I think there is more accuracy in our game now, we are finishing things off a lot more.”

Simplistic, perhaps, but true. Liverpool have been creating chances all season, only for their failure to take them resulting in damaging draws against Stoke City, West Ham United and Fulham. At Anfield in September Liverpool had 30 shots against Tony Pulis’s team yet drew 0-0. Their lowest shots total of the season came in the game that turned their campaign: Liverpool had nine shots against United at Old Trafford, yet scored four.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is adamant his side will not be taking things easy tonight following their FA Cup exit against Chelsea on Saturday. “You can never say to your team ‘Take your foot off the pedal’,” he said. “It is always better to win your big games because it makes you stronger for the next one. We will have nothing to do with favourising Liverpool or United.

“I have big respect for the Anfield crowd. I will never forget when we were leading 5-1 there [in the League Cup in 2007] and they were chanting ‘You will never walk alone’ like one man. When you are a manager and you know what you usually get when you are 5-1 down, you have only respect for the city. That would be a bit more difficult at the Emirates.”

Wenger said Robin van Persie was out with a recurrence of his groin problem while his other leading striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, would be rested as a precaution because of a slight hamstring injury. Bacary Sagna returns to the squad after illness but defenders, Gael Clichy and Johan Djourou, remain on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Alex Ferguson has said he is unrepentant over his calculated attack on Benitez despite the Manchester United manager, and his Liverpool adversary, attempting to draw a line under their bitter fall-out yesterday. Ferguson said Benitez was arrogant, lacked humility and showed “absolute contempt” against Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn at Anfield 10 days ago, a match Liverpool won 4-0. Yesterday Ferguson did not further the spat, but neither did he back down. “I made my point. I don’t understand why he did it. I don’t want to go on about it. There is no point carrying it on. It’s plain for everybody to see now.”

As for Liverpool’s explanation that Benitez’s gesture was to Alonso, the Scot added: “They are hurt by it. I am sure they are.”