Gunned down but Benitez sets sights on AC

Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1

Liverpool will now play in the UEFA Cup next season even though they have every chance of winning the Champions League crown against AC Milan on May 25. Unless UEFA agree to a sudden change of rules, Liverpool will not be allowed to defend the trophy should they overcome the Italians in Istanbul.

Liverpool’s defeat at Highbury yesterday ended their hopes of eclipsing Merseyside rivals Everton for fourth place. But Benitez refused to be downhearted.

“We played well in the first 15 minutes and we had some chances but played the next 30 minutes with our heads down.

“We needed to score three goals in the second half and we tried until the end. We played a good second half at high tempo. We scored one and maybe could have had another.”

When asked whether Liverpool would mount a challenge to overturn UEFA’s ruling that Champions League winners cannot defend their title, Benitez added: “We need to win the game and after that we will see. The question is how many times can you play a final of the Champions League after playing in the Carling Cup final and chasing fourth place in the league until the end? I try to be positive always. The players cannot start thinking about the future, they need to be thinking about the next game and then the final. The final is a massive game. We haven’t played in this final for 20 years and we need to prepare for it and then think about the future. It is my responsibility to prepare the players for the final.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was pleased with the victory which virtually assures them of the runners-up spot to champions Chelsea, which will hand them automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League.

Robert Pires’ free-kick handed the Gunners a first-half lead and Jose Antonio Reyes capitalised on the momentum to make it 2-0.

Reds captain Steven Gerrard’s deflected effort put Liverpool back into the game early in the second half but Arsenal looked comfortable until Cesc Fabregas capped off a mature performance with a third in added time.

However, Wenger was more upset by Sunday newspaper reports that suggested all was not well between the club and Ashley Cole’s agent Jonathan Barnett. Wenger made it clear he was more unhappy with the Premier League’s failure to come to a judgement about the ‘tapping-up’ scandal involving Chelsea and Cole.

The Arsenal boss said: “We have a contract with Ashley Cole until 2007 and talks can go on until then. My desire is to extend his contract and to improve his wages. At the moment the case (tapping-up) has not gone to a hearing and his agent is preparing his case.

“In fairness, I did not have a go at Ashley, I had a go at the Premier League. We are now in May and the situation happened in February. It has still not gone to a hearing. It looks like an international war is quicker sorted out.

“My gut feeling is that Ashley will stay. The Premier League need to take much quicker action under the football rules.

“If they want to punish Chelsea now when they are on holiday it will be very difficult. I don’t see any conspiracy, but it doesn’t seem logical to me that something happens in February and it is still not sorted out. Chelsea already have the cup, you cannot take it back. If they had taken one point from them in February, it would have been much better than six in May when they are already champions.”

But apart from Wenger’s unhappiness with the Cole situation, the Frenchman was more than pleased with his young team’s performance.

They outclassed Liverpool for long periods but Wenger insisted the second place is not yet secure even though Manchester United are six points behind with two games to play.

“Mathematically we have not finished second yet. We must wait until Wednesday and then finish the job.”

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Cole, Fabregas, Vieira, Silva, Pires (Edu 68), Van Persie (Bergkamp 68), Reyes (Aliadiere 86).

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Hamann (Smicer 68), Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Alonso, Riise (Kewell 45), Baros (Cisse 45).

Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).