Reds are running scared, says Toure

KOLO TOURE insists Liverpool will be running scared of facing Arsenal after the Merseysiders were put to the sword on three occasions last season.

The Gunners host the first leg of the all-Premier League affair at the Emirates tomorrow night in what will be a run of three matches against the Reds, with a domestic fixture at Emirates to come in between on Saturday.

But while Toure accepts Arsenal are in for a battle against their English adversaries, he remains confident Arsene Wenger’s side have the mental edge on them.

“It is an exciting tie,” said Toure. “Last season we played them four times (meeting in the FA and Carling Cups as well as the league) and we showed how strong we were – we beat them in three of those games.

“It is going to be really tight, we know that, but we have the quality and I think they will be scared to play against us. We need to show them that we have continued to improve and are even stronger than last season.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes the Reds’ derby victory over Everton has given them enough breathing space to be able to properly focus on the Champions League.

The 1-0 victory, earned by Fernando Torres’ early goal put five points between the fourth-placed Reds and their neighbours in fifth, and with six matches to go that cushion could be crucial in the race for Champions League qualification.

But Liverpool also still have an interest in this season’s competition. Gerrard believes they can go into the tie not having to look over their shoulder in terms of their league position.

“For the time being the pressure is off because we have got the five-point gap, but we have a lot of hard games to come,” he said.

“Although we are going to put all our focus on the Champions League, for the league game in between the two matches we still have to put in a big performance and try to keep the gap of five, if not improve it.”

The England midfielder was pleased the team were able to quickly get the previous weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United – which ended a seven-match winning run – out of their system.

“Last week was very disappointing – it was a difficult week swallowing that defeat at Old Trafford,” said the 27-year-old.

“The scoreline was more emphatic then we deserved but we have got to forget about that and move on and try to consolidate this fourth position and try to go all the way to Moscow (the host city for the final).”