Liverpool should draw little comfort

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1: A FORGETTABLE match delivered a result that will gnaw at the mind. Liverpool may brood the most over an outcome that is enigmatic for them.

A draw at the Emirates should seem satisfactory, but they had nearly half an hour to locate a winner against an Arsenal line-up that had suffered the dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor after a pair of yellow cards.

But the policies of the pragmatic Rafael Benitez loomed over the match, even if he was absent from the ground while recovering from surgery for kidney stones.

The closest his side came to a winner was a drive by a defender, Daniel Agger, that whistled a fraction wide in the 86th minute.

Arsenal will be proud of their resilience, but the sight of Aston Villa ahead of them in the last of the Champions League slots by three points emphasised the challenge posed to Arsene Wenger.

The mood of satisfaction in the Arsenal ranks owed everything to a conviction that they had dealt proudly with injustice. Adebayor, though, had run a senseless risk. Cautioned already, the Togo striker raised both a foot and an arm towards Alvaro Arbeloa in the 62nd minute. No harm was intended or done, but it was reckless conduct for a person in his disciplinary condition.

Arsenal, all the same, used the situation to show durability.

They already lacked captain Cesc Fabregas, withdrawn at half-time after a knee injury sustained in a challenge with Steven Gerrard, yet never looked swamped.

Liverpool will not torment themselves over this outcome, yet they could have completed a triptych of resonant victories, following the wins over Manchester United and Chelsea.

They will still discern reasons to be satisfied. With Fernando Torres still unavailable because of a hamstring problem, this was, for instance, a fine occasion for Robbie Keane, a supposed surplus failure of a signing, to seem indispensable. His leveller, three minutes from half-time, was spectacular. A long ball from Agger undid the Arsenal back four and Keane got behind Johan Djourou to smash a finish high past Manuel Almunia. If Benitez is lucky, the searing joy of this moment will continue to galvanise the attacker.

The scouring of the match for omens, though, will also help supporters to avoid dwelling on the mediocrity of much of the play. A piece of expertise was often followed by an error. When the adventurous Argentine full back Emiliano Insua crossed a minute from the end it was in keeping with the overall character of the game that Liverpool substitute Nabil El Zhar proved incapable of planting his header on target.

Nonetheless, the goals were sumptuous. With 24 minutes gone, Samir Nasri had hit a through-pass from the left. Jamie Carragher was given no cover by his fellow centre half Agger and Robin van Persie revelled in the opportunity to flaunt his virtuosity and economy. Chest control was complemented by a drive rammed irresistibly past Jose Reina at his near post.

This, all the same, brought out the durability in the visitors. Having equalised through Keane, Liverpool could have been ahead in the 45th minute. The busy Dirk Kuyt escaped Gael Clichy's attentions to hit a low ball that was marginally inaccurate and a stretching Gerrard missed the target despite a firm contact.

The frenetic element of the match never distracted observers completely from the uneven quality. It was impossible, for instance, not to recognise the hapless defending for each goal.

Liverpool will lose the leadership of the Premier League this evening should Chelsea maintain their perfect domestic away record at Goodison Park.

Arsenal, for their part, registered Aston Villa's win over West Ham United on Saturday. The make-up of the Premier League elite may no longer be as immutable as it has appeared in the past few years.

The Arsenal manager has spoken of the threat to the habitual top-four clubs. That may have been an indirect way of acknowledging particular concerns. His squad, regardless of fighting spirit here, is not as accomplished as its predecessors; nor, for that matter, does it have the physical presence so apparent when Sol Campbell and Patrick Vieira were on the payroll.

Whatever the Liverpool deficiencies, their bid for the title is developing plausibility. It is in Benitez's favour, too, that Manchester United's Club World Cup commitments mean they lie seven points behind, with a strain on the champions to make maximum use of their two games in hand.

For all that, life could have been better for Liverpool. With more firepower or insistent enterprise, they would have beaten an undermanned Arsenal.

• Guardian Service