The horror of the FA Cup defeat is the only stain on the Anfield copybook since December, in which the reds have garnered some resilience in the face of adversity.
Seven Premier League games undefeated, including vital wins over Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton that have seen the reds rise to a position in which they can effectively challenge for a top four spot.
Liverpool’s defence has been at it’s most inefficient for vast swathes of this season, but the emergence of Sotirios Kyrgiakos as a useful piece of the jigsaw has seen the reds confidence turned around, and the club have shipped only one goal in those 7 matches.
But next up in the Premier League is the spectre of two difficult away games – at the Emirates and then on to Man City. At stake is an opportunity to challenge for 3rd, cement 4th, or let moneybags Man City to steal the advantage.
After the weekend derby victory, club captain Steven Gerrard insisted that the reds have a real opportunity to build on their gritty wins of late.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo he said:
“You always enjoy beating your local rivals but it was the way we did it that was really satisfying, particularly after losing a man after half an hour.
“I thought we showed fantastic character, a great attitude and I also thought we played some decent stuff at times. I thought it was a fully deserved win.
“You could see what it meant to everyone on the pitch at the end and it was the same again in the dressing room afterwards; everybody is still on a high.
“Now we have got to take that high into the next game. It’s a tough one, Arsenal away always is. But we have used beating Everton as a platform in the past and we’ve got to do it again. We want to extend our run and go on to better things.”
The reds travel to the Emirates, in search of their first victory at the ground, on Wednesday.
When is benny and johnson returning to this team? d spirit is back due to more determination, committment and belief..all we need now is a full squad, will any of them be available for today’s match? wishing torres quick recovery
Id say it’s about time we had a victory away to arsenal and a victory of any measure would be a welcome boost !
first and foremost we have to stop them playing then force our game on them !, they don’t like the rough stuff so let’s mess up their sexy football and rough em up and snatch a goal or two ! it’s deffo possible! we just need to get them on the back foot !