Four-goal Arshavin dents Liverpool title hopes

THE DISAPPOINTMENT is now as intense for Liverpool as the excitement had been. They had no control of this game and Arsenal took the lead for the third time when they counter-attacked from a corner and set up Andrey Arshavin for his fourth goal in the 90th minute.

There was still time for the home team to level through Yossi Benayoun. All the same, Liverpool top the Premier League merely on goal difference and Manchester United, with two games in hand, must be hungry for tonight’s home game against Portsmouth.

Yossi Benayoun looked determined and ready to control the game. Whether overwrought or merely unlucky, Liverpool could not capitalise then and fell behind nine minutes from the interval.

The opposition could at least be calm. Arsenal, who lost any realistic hope of the title long ago, would have regarded this fixture with interest more than excitement. Just six of the men who had begun the FA Cup loss to Chelsea started here.

Although injuries had a bearing on that, a laid-back policy was also revealed with the decision that Theo Walcott would be a mere substitute. He had scored in each of his last three outings for the club.

Walcott was being reserved for other occasions, specifically the Champions League semi-final meetings with Manchester United. The Old Trafford club, knowing that victory for Liverpool would add to the tension in the struggle for the title, might have been indignant until Arshavin’s goals, but they had forfeited the right to principled anger when they sent out a makeshift line-up in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Everton.

This match did matter greatly to one visiting player in particular. Lukasz Fabianski ought to be presenting himself as the best man for the goalkeeping position at Arsenal even when Manuel Almunia regains fitness. His mistakes, however, had led to both of Chelsea’s goals at Wembley.

Fabianski set about re-establishing himself here, blocking at the feet of Benayoun and then Alvaro Arebeloa after a pass by Dirk Kuyt had torn open Arsenal on the left. Liverpool may again have lacked Steven Gerrard, but the side opened as if bent on showing again that they can cut loose without him.

Liverpool had an intense zeal about them from the start. Fabianski had twice to turn away drives by Torres that were smacked from outside the area. There was also a goal-line clearance from Samir Nasri after Daniel Agger connected with a corner in the 31st minute.

But Liverpool’s control was far from complete and the opener for Arsenal was not the first moment in which the visitors provoked fear. After Daniel Agger headed out a cross in the 29th minute, Nicklas Bendtner failed narrowly to get the touch that would have put Cesc Fabragas’s volley into the net.

The warning went unheard by Liverpool. With 36 minutes gone, Javier Mascherano delayed after taking a pass from Fabio Aurelio and was challenged by Fabregas. The Arsenal captain then collected a return ball from Samir Nasri and sent in a low cross that Arshavin fired high into the net.

Liverpool had been frenetic and the energy level did not dip, with Benayoun calling for a good one-handed save from Fabianski as he tore through from midfield.

With four minutes of the second half gone an inept clearance by Sagna invited Kuyt to cross from the right and Torres converted with a firm, precise header. Seven minutes later, Fabianski twice failed in quick succession to boot the ball far enough away. The left-back Kieran Gibbs then turned and lost possession to Kuyt, who again sent in a deep cross and Benayoun applied a header that sent the ball over the line before it was clawed out by Fabianski.

The visitors were level in 67 minutes when Alvaro Arbeloa was lax enough to let Arshavin have possession and, from the fringes of the area, the Russian sent a superb drive bending past the left hand of Pepe Reina. There was nothing composed about Liverpool on this highly-charged night and Arsenal soon regained the lead as Aurelio’s weak clearance left Arshavin complete the hat-trick.

Liverpool levelled, however, as Torres held off Silvestre before despatching a low ball from Albert Riera. It then took a very tight offside decision to stop Bendtner from putting the visitors in front once more.

Guardian Service

Arshavin 36, 67, 70, 90

LIVERPOOL:Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio, Alonso, Mascherano, Benayoun, Kuyt (El Zhar 86), Riera (Babel 74), Torres. Subs not used: Cavalieri, Dossena, Lucas, Ngog, Skrtel.

ARSENAL:Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs, Arshavin, Song Billong, Fabregas, Denilson (Walcott 65), Nasri, Bendtner (Diaby 90). Subs not used: Mannone, Eduardo, Vela, Ramsey, Eboue.

Booked:Sagna.

Referee:Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).