Dalglish demands further ‘sacrifice’
With fourth-placed Arsenal visiting Anfield, Dalglish wants his players switched on and fully focused on a match which could have a significant bearing on their aspirations for Champions League qualification.
“What happened last Sunday I think they fully deserved it — on the day and in their performances in the competition,” said the Scot.
“The boys have been away this week for international matches but I am sure they have enjoyed the success they have had and they will put it behind them and get themselves focused for the match on Saturday, which will be really difficult.
“We don’t want to sound as if they shouldn’t have enjoyed themselves — I hope they have because we have — but we’ve had the enjoyment and now it is back to work.
“We know the hard work which was involved in getting to Wembley. The players were prepared to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the club and we just need more of that.
“We will now go for whatever we can in every game. It is nice to be in the Europa League but it is even nicer if we can progress and build on what we did last Sunday.
“I am sure it has whetted their appetite. Our season is not finished because we won the Carling Cup.”
Arsenal arrive at Anfield after their own morale-boosting victory over north London rivals Tottenham.
Trailing 2-0 they bounced back to score five unanswered goals and Dalglish is under no illusions, despite the talk of Arsene Wenger’s side not being the force they once were.
“They were fantastic — 2-0 down and then they got five goals in about 20 minutes, which is a fantastic turnaround,” said Dalglish.
“But whether or not both clubs won last Sunday this was always going to be a difficult game.
“We know what we are up against, we know what we have got to do and we will compete as well as we can.
“We know they have quality but we’re not so bad ourselves.”
Wenger admits he thought it was a case of mistaken identity when he was named Barclays Manager of the Month yesterday.
The Gunners boss has presided over one of the most testing periods of his 15-season reign, but nevertheless guided the team through an unbeaten Premier League campaign during February, with three wins from four.
Wenger was able to delve into a bit of light-hearted self-analysis when he reflected on the award, which came in a month when his side slumped to a 4-0 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash away to AC Milan and then crashed out of the FA Cup at Sunderland.
“It was a complete shock to me. I couldn’t understand that at all,” the Arsenal boss said.
“If you had read the newspapers in the last two weeks, you must say there is a mistake.
“I thought they were speaking to somebody else behind me.”
Liverpool are unbeaten at Anfield in the league, although with eight draws. Arsenal could put further distance between themselves and the Reds with victory today, which would also move the Gunners within striking range of third-placed Spurs, who host Manchester United tomorrow.
Wenger is confident a positive display at Anfield can boost chances of an unlikely turnaround against Milan in next week’s second leg.
“We know that in the Champions League we have a massive score against us, but if we get a good result at Liverpool I think we have a chance,” he said.
“For us it’s important to confirm the game we played against Tottenham at Liverpool and then we can focus completely on the Champions League and have a real go.
“What we did in Milan was just not what we do usually in the Champions League and I am sure we’ll see a different Arsenal on Tuesday.”
Wenger also hit out at the international friendlyschedule and revealed Arsenal are considering lodging an official complaint against the Belgian association after Wenger claimed they “forced” injured defender Thomas Vermaelen to play a full match in midweek.
Like most Premier League clubs, Arsenal’s squad have jetted around the globe during the latest round of international friendlies, which saw captain Robin van Persie play for Holland against England at Wembley despite having picked up a groin problem.
Wenger, though, was left seething at Belgium’s use of centre-half Vermaelen — who has endured more than his fair share of injury problems — for their game in Greece.
“It looks like Belgium has made a decision which I still do not understand and we will look to see if we can put a complaint in,” the Arsenal manager said.
“Firstly they forced the player to travel, then they forced him to play 90 minutes after being injured and had a centre-back on the bench who did not play at all, in afriendly game knowing they do not even go to the European Championship. For me, that is difficult to understand.
“I was always in favour of using the players for official games and I never asked any player not to go 100% for his country when it is a qualifier or a big competition, but the friendlies are becoming more and more difficult.”
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