Arsene Wenger maintains Arsenal's Barclays Premier League title challenge is "not over" despite suffering another frustrating draw with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium. Just three days after their European tie ended all-square, both teams were back to do battle for league points.
Each manager made several changes, no doubt with one eye on next week's second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Recalled striker Peter Crouch gave Liverpool the lead at the end of the first half, with Nicklas Bendtner levelling on 53 minutes. Arsenal once again pressed for a late winner, but it would just not come.
With Manchester United, who play at Middlesbrough tomorrow, still five points clear at the top of the table and now with a game in hand, Wenger concedes his men face an uphill battle to wrestle the title away from Old Trafford. However, with key fixtures between the top three still to come, the Gunners boss refuses to throw in the towel.
"In my brain it is not over, because it is not over mathematically," Wenger said. "It depends on the results of the other teams. I said we would need at least five wins and a draw. "It is frustrating again because I feel we had a blatant penalty again for a foul on [Cesc] Fabregas, which was not given. You can see it well on television, it is 100% conclusive.
"We also had a chance in the last minute to kill the game off. "It was a bit of repetition of Wednesday night. We had problems starting the game, and then got into the game after 30 minutes. "Then just before half-time they got the goal and then they defended for every ball in their half and you needed to get back to score a second goal, which was possible.
"We had to throw everything forward and left ourselves open a little on counter-attacks. That was the game basically." Wenger defended his team selection, which saw five changes from Wednesday night's game, including leaving leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor on the bench. "When you don't win the game, you are looking for what could have been different," he added. "It is difficult, but you have to make decisions. With the schedule we have, if you only always play the same XI, it does not work as well."
The trip to Anfield on Tuesday night now takes on extra significance if a season which promised so much is not to end in disappointment. Wenger said: "Of course it is a massive game. Who would say that the quarter-final of the Champions League is not? "It is very important for us and for them."
The Gunners boss, though, insisted it was not now a season-defining moment. "I do not like the big statements," he said. "We will play our own game on Tuesday night and try to win, give absolutely everything. "Our season has not been disastrous anyway because people expected us to be between 10th and 12th at the beginning of the season, so we are beyond expectation."
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was happy enough with a point which keeps them ahead of Merseyside rivals Everton in the battle for the final Champions League qualifying place. "For both teams, today was important, for us to be closer to the top four and for Arsenal to be in the race for the title. The pressure was the same for both teams," he said. "We had to work hard and scored a great goal. The work rate was good from a lot of players who normally do not play. They all did well. "We could have won because we had the chances, but then again we could also have lost as they had chances as well."
As for the title race, Benitez added: "I think it will be difficult for them. I was asking Arsene before in the race for the title, you cannot lose points now, so it is really difficult. "Maybe the only option now for them is the Champions League, which means they will be more dangerous for us too."
Benitez is relishing Tuesday night's clash at Anfield, which is delicately poised at 1-1. "Arsene Wenger was trying to keep some players for the second leg, and we were trying to do the same," he said. "You could see that some of the players were tired. But they will play the next game with a lot of passion and I don't think they will be tired.
"We have confidence, but know they have quality, can play well away and are dangerous. "It is very difficult to play for a 0-0 draw. I don't know how to do it."