Let's salute this carnival of creativity

The fleet and fancy Torres was off the scoresheet last night but still poses a mortal danger to Arsenal's campaign which, Arsene Wenger said, has reached its 'moment of truth' with a gruelling 12-day sequence of clashes with Liverpool and Manchester United.

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The pathos in Arsenal's attempts to seize the initiative in this quarter- final first leg was painfully apparent as first Alexander Hleb was denied a clear penalty and then Nicklas Bendtner suffered a bout of tanglefoot and stopped a Cesc Fabregas effort rolling over Pepe Reina's line.

The English conquest of Europe seems more complicated than when United impaled Roma in the Stadio Olympico on Tuesday night. Arsenal and Liverpool are neck and neck and Chelsea must reverse a deficit against Fenerbahce at Stamford Bridge.

But let no one doubt the richness of attacking talent on display in the three quarter-finals involving Barclays Premier League clubs. Hardly any of it is English, but we're still entitled to herald a golden age of forward play.

Torres is the kind of player Wenger would like to mould on the lush pastures of London Colney.

He is Liverpool's fresh ingredient — the spur to an already amazing sequence of European runs.

Rafa Benitez's men hold a slender advantage in this mini-series and it's Torres they will look to to assert his Champions League credentials, as Ronaldo did for United in Rome.

Old-school types studied Torres' alice-band, his slender frame and choirboy looks and predicted a disappearance.

'The Kid', they thought, would walk into the threshing machine of lower Premier League defending and not be seen again. Wrong, 28 times.

Liverpool stepped into the Arsenal kaleidoscope with their first real foreign talisman, unless you count great Scots like Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalglish.

And while Torres kept Philippe Senderos and Kolo Toure busy, it was the Anfield goalscoring department's lesser light — the Dutchman Dirk Kuyt — who slid in to equalise from Steven Gerrard's cross after Emmanuel Adebayor had headed Arsenal into the lead.

Not since the Premier League's birth has such an array of attacking talent tickled our senses.

These Champions League quarter-finals kicked off with English clubs able to summon Adebayor and Van Persie, Drogba and Anelka, Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, and the sunkid Torres, not to mention the free -scoring midfielders Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes.

A golden age. A feast of forward play that no European nation can match. Part of the joy is that many of these young luminaries have come of age in our league, with good coaching and management.

Even five years ago, some of the elite stayed in Europe to protect their shins, especially Brazilians.

Those reservations no longer hold. There must have been times in the last nine months when Torres doubted the wisdom of his move to Merseyside. The usual falling away in the title race and a farcical boardroom power struggle must have made him pine for Madrid — even the unsung half.

Reassuringly, English football has hardened him into a full-grown assassin, and with each test he grows stronger, more able to inspire a Liverpool side that had become unhealthily dependent on Gerrard's leadership and his goals.

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Manchester United pinched Eric Cantona from Leeds, Wenger built round Vieira, Henry, Pires and now Fabregas, and Chelsea were quick out of the blocks with their Italian imports, Zola, Vialli and Ruud Gullit.

But Liverpool's long search for a true global superstar had come to nought until Benitez beat United, Chelsea and Arsenal to the punch for Atletico Madrid's stranded idol.

The old Scouse core of McManaman and Fowler, Owen, Gerrard and Carragher carried many an over-hyped Frenchman or Spaniard, but now Torres brings authentic class and glamour to the operation.

Better one worldclass talent who costs £21million than 10 nearly-men who all fail to make the difference between finishing fourth and first.

A side who sometimes looked crab-like in their forward work now have pace, cunning and movement where teams need it most.

A typically intense heavyweight clash acquired further lustre when Theo Walcott replaced Robin van Persie. As with the tennis at Wimbledon, the English have been spectral figures at their own party, but you still cling to the hope that someone, somewhere, can fashion a good England side from such a vibrant league. Torres, Walcott, Ronaldo, Rooney: it's a carnival of attacking out there, maybe the best we've seen.