The Fourth Estate believe that Liverpool have a critical advantage...
'While Liverpool, with their away goal, have the edge, Arsenal would surely have won had the substitute Nicklas Bendtner, in an offside position, not been in the way of a net-bound effort from Cesc Fábregas.
'Arsenal are exasperated, too, that, with the score at 1-1, the Dutch referee, Pieter Vink, failed to see the tug at the left arm of Alexander Hleb by Dirk Kuyt that should have brought a penalty in the 66th minute. On broader reflection, Arsène Wenger should be happy about spells, after the interval, when his side had an expansiveness unseen since they held that five-point lead in the Premier League not so long ago.
'Nonetheless, Arsenal probably need to reach the sort of peak at Anfield that they attained to beat Milan 2-0 at San Siro in the previous round. The overall situation will gladden Rafael Benítez at a time when this competition offers the sole hope, as it probably does for Arsenal, of plucking triumph from a muddled season' - Kevin McCarra, The Guardian.
'That goal has given Liverpool plenty upon which to cling in the second leg, although it was an oversight by the referee, another Dutchman, at the other end which ensured this contest remains tantalisingly on edge. Kuyt clearly hooked Alexander Hleb's left arm back as the Arsenal player glided into the area 66 minutes in, the Belarusian tumbling to the turf and wondering why he was not awarded the penalty the foul merited. Kuyt played the innocent but there was a puff of the cheeks which betrayed his relief as he retreated to defend the resultant corner.
'The anguished mood that had gripped the home dugout simmered on in the aftermath. Arsène Wenger spoke of a "blatant penalty right under the eyes of the referee". It is perhaps just as well that the Frenchman was unaware that Pieter Vink, a policeman from Noordwijkerhout, comes from a place some 5km from Kuyt's own home town of Katwijk' - Dominic Fifield, The Guardian.
'Advantage Liverpool. Showing all their European experience, Rafa Benitez's side absorbed everything that Arsenal threw at them here last night, and will believe they can reach the semi-finals at an impassioned Anfield next Tuesday.
'Billed as a very English affair, this first leg was shaped by goals from a Togo international, Emmanuel Adebayor, and a Dutchman, Dirk Kuyt, who equalised. Arguably the most impressive performer was the Argentinian, Javier Mascherano, who delivered a determined 90-minute shift of ball-winning and simple distribution' - Henry Winter, The Daily Telegraph.
'There are close calls - the Democratic nomination, London's mayoral election, Brown versus Cameron at the polls next time, perhaps - and then there is this match. Pick a winner if you dare. Try to put a cigarette paper between them. Advantage Liverpool? Not against the team who defeated AC Milan at the San Siro, surely. The clever money on Arsenal? Not if you have studied Liverpool's form in Europe since Rafael Benítez took over.
'Those who were expecting a first-leg stalemate were only half wrong. Both goals came in a three-minute spell and, for the remaining 87, two English teams playing Champions League football cancelled each other out. Sound familiar? The pleasant surprise was that this was no Liverpool-Chelsea snooze-fest, no exercise in tactical tedium and the crashing together of immovable objects. This match was open, enjoy- able and bodes well for the spectacle at Anfield next Tuesday. Liverpool had the best of the first half, Arsenal the best of the second. Honours even, then, and credit all round' - Martin Samuel, The Times.
'For Wenger, it must have been so painful to watch. First there was the ease with which Steven Gerrard left Mathieu Flamini in his wake before surging past Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure.
'Then came Gael Clichy's failure to stop Kuyt from meeting the Liverpool captain's cross with a close-range finish.
'Clichy had allowed the Dutchman to cut inside him. Advantage Liverpool.
It is the kind of advantage that Rafa Benitez and his players have proved the masters of protecting in the Champions League, that they have protected at the expense of teams like AC Milan and Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea.
Even if Arsenal can reflect on a fine record at Anfield and a season that has seen them score with impressive consistency on their travels, staying off that list of illustrious Liverpool scalps is not going to be easy' - Matt Lawton, The Daily Mail.
'Advantage Rafael Benitez - another classic from the old master of the Champions League smash and grab. Last night his team made the dark art of European football look bliss-fully simple as they took Arsène Wenger's season to the brink of extinction.
'Arsenal will remember the penalty that was never given to Alexander Hleb and they will regret the moment that they allowed Dirk Kuyt in to poach the equaliser, three minutes after Emmanuel Adebayor gave them the lead. But most of all they will consider the trip to Anfield on Tuesday with bleak foreboding: nowhere in Europe, not even San Siro, has quite the same reputation as the fortress in Stanley Park' - Sam Wallace, The Independent
'While Liverpool, with their away goal, have the edge, Arsenal would surely have won had the substitute Nicklas Bendtner, in an offside position, not been in the way of a net-bound effort from Cesc Fábregas.
'Arsenal are exasperated, too, that, with the score at 1-1, the Dutch referee, Pieter Vink, failed to see the tug at the left arm of Alexander Hleb by Dirk Kuyt that should have brought a penalty in the 66th minute. On broader reflection, Arsène Wenger should be happy about spells, after the interval, when his side had an expansiveness unseen since they held that five-point lead in the Premier League not so long ago.
'Nonetheless, Arsenal probably need to reach the sort of peak at Anfield that they attained to beat Milan 2-0 at San Siro in the previous round. The overall situation will gladden Rafael Benítez at a time when this competition offers the sole hope, as it probably does for Arsenal, of plucking triumph from a muddled season' - Kevin McCarra, The Guardian.
'That goal has given Liverpool plenty upon which to cling in the second leg, although it was an oversight by the referee, another Dutchman, at the other end which ensured this contest remains tantalisingly on edge. Kuyt clearly hooked Alexander Hleb's left arm back as the Arsenal player glided into the area 66 minutes in, the Belarusian tumbling to the turf and wondering why he was not awarded the penalty the foul merited. Kuyt played the innocent but there was a puff of the cheeks which betrayed his relief as he retreated to defend the resultant corner.
'The anguished mood that had gripped the home dugout simmered on in the aftermath. Arsène Wenger spoke of a "blatant penalty right under the eyes of the referee". It is perhaps just as well that the Frenchman was unaware that Pieter Vink, a policeman from Noordwijkerhout, comes from a place some 5km from Kuyt's own home town of Katwijk' - Dominic Fifield, The Guardian.
'Advantage Liverpool. Showing all their European experience, Rafa Benitez's side absorbed everything that Arsenal threw at them here last night, and will believe they can reach the semi-finals at an impassioned Anfield next Tuesday.
'Billed as a very English affair, this first leg was shaped by goals from a Togo international, Emmanuel Adebayor, and a Dutchman, Dirk Kuyt, who equalised. Arguably the most impressive performer was the Argentinian, Javier Mascherano, who delivered a determined 90-minute shift of ball-winning and simple distribution' - Henry Winter, The Daily Telegraph.
'There are close calls - the Democratic nomination, London's mayoral election, Brown versus Cameron at the polls next time, perhaps - and then there is this match. Pick a winner if you dare. Try to put a cigarette paper between them. Advantage Liverpool? Not against the team who defeated AC Milan at the San Siro, surely. The clever money on Arsenal? Not if you have studied Liverpool's form in Europe since Rafael Benítez took over.
'Those who were expecting a first-leg stalemate were only half wrong. Both goals came in a three-minute spell and, for the remaining 87, two English teams playing Champions League football cancelled each other out. Sound familiar? The pleasant surprise was that this was no Liverpool-Chelsea snooze-fest, no exercise in tactical tedium and the crashing together of immovable objects. This match was open, enjoy- able and bodes well for the spectacle at Anfield next Tuesday. Liverpool had the best of the first half, Arsenal the best of the second. Honours even, then, and credit all round' - Martin Samuel, The Times.
'For Wenger, it must have been so painful to watch. First there was the ease with which Steven Gerrard left Mathieu Flamini in his wake before surging past Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure.
'Then came Gael Clichy's failure to stop Kuyt from meeting the Liverpool captain's cross with a close-range finish.
'Clichy had allowed the Dutchman to cut inside him. Advantage Liverpool.
It is the kind of advantage that Rafa Benitez and his players have proved the masters of protecting in the Champions League, that they have protected at the expense of teams like AC Milan and Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea.
Even if Arsenal can reflect on a fine record at Anfield and a season that has seen them score with impressive consistency on their travels, staying off that list of illustrious Liverpool scalps is not going to be easy' - Matt Lawton, The Daily Mail.
'Advantage Rafael Benitez - another classic from the old master of the Champions League smash and grab. Last night his team made the dark art of European football look bliss-fully simple as they took Arsène Wenger's season to the brink of extinction.
'Arsenal will remember the penalty that was never given to Alexander Hleb and they will regret the moment that they allowed Dirk Kuyt in to poach the equaliser, three minutes after Emmanuel Adebayor gave them the lead. But most of all they will consider the trip to Anfield on Tuesday with bleak foreboding: nowhere in Europe, not even San Siro, has quite the same reputation as the fortress in Stanley Park' - Sam Wallace, The Independent
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