True to expectations, this match saw Liverpool adopting a soak and absorb strategy while Arsenal were desperate to get the early goals, not merely to eradicate the away goal deficit but also to restore their confidence. Two previous encounters where they shared the fruits of their enterprising labor with a negative Liverpool had left the Gunners bitterly disappointed. Hook or by crook, they were determined to set the record straight in the last part of this trilogy.

For the first 30 minutes, positive signs abound that Arsenal’s dominance could finally spell a comfortable win. However, Liverpool crashed the party by staging an exhilarating comeback late in the game and handing Wenger an “unswallowable” defeat.

The match was barely underway when Arsenal punched through Liverpool’s defense - Adebayor could have scored if he had kept an eye on the offside trap. He did not have to wait long though to get his first shot on target but Reina was up to the task. Unfortunately, the danger was not extinguished as a poor clearance by Alonso allowed Fabregas to pick out Diaby who then unleashed a low shot that rolled into the net off Reina’s knee.

Liverpool were anxious to recover but they were struggling to put together decent attacks. Their first chance came thirty minutes later when Aurelio’s deflected cross forced Almunia into conceding a corner. Gerrard floated a teasing ball into the penalty box and Hyypia capitalized on Senderos’s defensive lapse to power home an unstoppable header.

The goal lighted Liverpool’s fire and they poured forward with improved passing. Arsenal held firm and were fortunate to avoid further damage when Almunia flapped unconvincingly at Jamie Carragher’s cross. Their rhythm and combative edge were further disrupted by the loss of Flamini who was stretchered off the pitch.

In the 69th minute, Aurelio flicked on the ball for Torres, a subdued presence until then, to score. His sublime first touch, followed by a stupendous spin and shoot left Arsenal’s rearguard stranded in disbelief as the net bulged.

Adebayor should have equalized soon after, but he contrived to place his shot wide. The Gunners finally drew level, thanks to Walcott’s exhilarating run. In the 84th minute, his breakaway saw him skate past four Liverpool players to let Adebayor redeem himself with a goal and leveled the tie at 2-2.

In normal circumstances, a mere six minutes left and an advantage to a top-notch opponent like Arsenal, punters will have looked on lovingly at their bet slips but this is Liverpool, the Houdini-styled escape artist. Indeed, Arsenal’s satisfaction was extremely short-lived as they conceded a penalty one minute later.

Kolo Toure had tripped Babel in such a clumsy manner. the referee did not hesitate in pointing to the spot. Gerrard, who could well have been sleeping through the match, did not disappoint and smashed home the penalty. Babel then sealed the win with a stoppage time goal to cap an explosive climax at Anfield.

Gerrard was admirably frank about his overall performance. He said: “That was one of the worst performances I ever put up in a Liverpool shirt. To be fair to Arsenal they passed us off the pitch but we had the wherewithal to get through.”

But his boss was quick to downplay the importance of the penalty and focussed on the merits of the victory. Benitez said: “The important thing was that the team believed and it was a fantastic team performance. Regarding the penalty, it doesn’t really matter as we scored four goals this time which was more than enough to win the match.”

During the pre-match reports, Benitez emphasized that Anfield’s intimidating atmosphere gave his team an advantage but it was his players who appeared overawed by the occasion. Liverpool’s attacks were grounded and they had several nervous moments at the back.

It could be due to the change in formation which Benitez bravely tinkered with, probably to unsettle the opponent. The rationale for such a change is, of course, to preempt the possibility that Wenger had become so familiar with his team and is ready to exploit their weaknesses, having thoroughly studied them over the weekend. Benitez is right to spring a surprise but it nearly backfired as his own charges were unsettled too.

An intriguing line-up was decided upon and it comprised two strikers up front featuring Crouch alongside Torres while Gerrard was deployed on the left of midfield. Arsenal also made some adjustment but it was forced rather than tactical, Robin van Persie did not recover in time from a thigh muscle injury, Diaby took the left wing and Alexander Hleb was pushed forward to act as a foil for Adebayor.

The Gunners wasted their chances to kill the match when Liverpool were unsure of themselves. Arsenal had an advantage of an extra man in midfield, which provided them with overwhelming possession, but it did not convert into goals. Worse was to come when self-doubt crept in once Hyypia equalized and the match swung in the opposite direction. Liverpool were awakened from their slumber and there was no looking back.

You have to hand it to Liverpool for being dogged and digging in their heels to eke out a result. Their track record in the Champions League suggest that you can never claim a victory against them until the final whistle. Many an elite team who had written off their chances based on their inconsistent Premier League performances had learned about their indefatigable spirit in Europe through the hard way.

While Benitez gains another feather in his hat, Wenger has to really analyze what went wrong with this season. He claimed that he did not come all the way to finish second but the way things are panning out, securing a third spot in the Premier League doesn’t seem all that bad.

The fact is this Arsenal team is not ready to be champions. They don’t seem able to grind out a result when it matters and have fallen to lowly teams far too often. To put it simply, the lack of killer instinct is glaring. If you banged your head against the wall every time Adebayor missed gilt-edged chances, you could have a mini-concussion by now. Adebayor is not the greatest culprit here but if he takes his chances when presented, the story could be different for Liverpool.

Over the past weeks, Arsenal did not just suffer hiccups, they virtually imploded and had not extricated themselves from the patchy run till today. The young guns do not yet possess the class and invincible aura of 1998 team which struck fear into their opponents.

To be fair, the current batch has a gung-ho attitude and strong fundamentals which allow them to churn out pretty, flowing football. But when the opponent proves to be a tough nut to crack, it requires vast experience and superior technical abilities to exploit the tiniest of gaps.

Theo Walcott’s run was brilliant, yet he cannot command a regular starting place for Arsenal. Wenger continues to believe he has not developed well and doesn’t think he can be trusted in a game of this magnitude.

There are not many England players at Walcott’s age who possess the raw pace and power, surely he couldn’t have performed worse than any of his team-mates out there. The best place for him to learn is to be in the team, not languishing in the reserves or on the bench. Otherwise, I believe he should do a David Bentley and gain more exposure in other teams.

When it comes to defense which has been very porous of late, Wenger needs to plug the hole at right-back. None of the candidates appear steady in this position. Eboue is already out of contention for me and Toure, while an excellent centre-back, was caught out several times in this role. He didn’t react as he would have done at centre-back.

On the issue of penalties, Wenger may argue that he was deprived of a rightful one in the last match but in football, that is the way decisions go. Poor judgments will even out over the long term but you just have to take some bad calls on the chin at times. And if a team has to argue over a penalty to win a match, instead of putting away the abundant chances in open play, the victory is slighted in my opinion.

Arsenal are now left to contemplate a third consecutive season without silverware. Fate has set Liverpool up to meet Chelsea again and it will be interesting to see whether Avram Grant can break the curse of Liverpool which has plagued Jose Mourinho.

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