Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Ian Rush: Don’t Go And Draw The Wrong Conclusions Now

The fact there was a sense of frustration after leaving Arsenal only with a point shows how far Liverpool have come this season.

It was disappointing that we didn’t create more chances after Emmanuel Adebayor had been sent off but what happened was that Arsenal’s players started to work twice as hard.

It isn’t always easy playing a side down to 10 men and so it proved as Arsenal got men behind the ball and made it difficult for Liverpool to get through.

In the end I thought a draw was a fair result and there were a lot of positives to come out of the game for the Reds.

Arsenal had to win more than Liverpool and the onus was on Arsene Wenger’s side to go for it.

That’s the difference with this season compared to last. Last year, we went into games like Sunday’s having to win to stay in contention. Now it’s the other way around and others have to beat us to make up ground.

If we had won then it would have been the end of Arsenal’s title hopes and it would have been down to a three-horse race.

A draw means Arsenal are still hanging on in there but it was a much better result for us than for them. The team showed a lot of character to come back from a goal behind again and it was a fantastic strike from Robbie Keane.

I was so made up for Robbie because he was in a position he doesn’t usual play in. He normally likes to play off Fernando Torres in the same way as he played behind Dimitar Berbatov at Spurs.

But at the Emirates he was asked to play the lone striker role and I thought he was fantastic.

He worked so hard for the team and will take a lot of confidence from that goal.

It was also a great reaction after the comments made by Mark Lawrenson last week about Keane’s future.

To come out and say what he did about Keane moving on in January was absolutely stupid – it didn’t help the club or player.

I was also impressed by the professionalism the players showed in the absence of Rafa Benitez.

It would have been strange not having the boss around and it would have been easy for people to switch off, but everyone stuck to their task.

Possibly Liverpool could have been more attacking in the closing stages but Arsenal actually played better with 10 men and a point is a decent return.

Having won at Chelsea, beaten Manchester United at home and now drawn at Arsenal it just shows it’s not the big teams that seem to worry us.

It’s against mediocre sides at home that we really need to raise our game – starting with Bolton on Boxing Day.

Bolton aren’t an easy side to play against and they’ve been in good form recently but having drawn the last three home games against Fulham, West Ham and Hull, we can’t afford another slip-up.

With the Bolton game followed by a trip to Newcastle, we’ve got to be looking to get six points.

We’ve got a good record at Newcastle and I think the fact they like to attack at home will play into our hands.

It’s vital Liverpool see off the likes of Bolton and Newcastle so that when they come around to playing against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal again they are in control of their own destiny. We want to be in a position where those sides have to really go for it against us.

If we can start 2009 in top spot then history shows we’ll have a fantastic chance of going on to clinch the title.

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