Wenger desperate for victory in the final reel

It made uncomfortable viewing for Wenger but proved pleasant enough for Rafa Benitez, who started with Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard on the bench while injecting more doubts into Arsenal minds for part three.

The Champions League is the final hope of the season for both teams. Liverpool will trust their status as European experts and the fortress of Anfield in the second leg of the quarter-final tomorrow.

The Gunners will seek to summon the spirit of the San Siro but must quash the fear that their season is about to dissolve into nothing. A comparison of Chelsea and Arsenal's form shows Grant has won seven of the last 11; Arsenal two. Follow the sequence back to include Chelsea's awful form in February and the comparison still favours Grant, who has won eight of his last 15; Wenger six of 15.

Yet it is Grant who is criticised for team selection and tactics at every turn as the body language of his players undermines his authority. The Israeli is most likely to be shuffled out of view in the summer. Wenger will still be stalking his technical area.

On Saturday, the Frenchman surprisingly compromised his title bid by trying to keep legs fresh for Anfield. Last time he tried something similar, in the FA Cup before a meeting with AC Milan, Manchester United won 4-0. Arsenal's composure vanished that day and they have rarely been the same since.

Liverpool dominated the first half and the home team were booed into the break by their supporters. Surely not what shareholder Stan Kroenke expected to hear on his first game at the Emirates. Arsenal showed greater pace and purpose after the break but had to rely on a set-piece for the leveller, a Bendtner header from a Cesc Fabregas free-kick. Six of their last seven goals have come from set-pieces. The other was an own goal.

The Gunners pressed for a winner but Jamie Carragher was strong and solid at the back and Liverpool always looked more likely to snatch a goal on the break. Andriy Voronin wasted the best chance, created by Crouch, and Gerrard would surely have wrapped up the win were it not for a sloppy pass from Torres.

Crouch said: "We've got to take confidence from the fact that we've played two away games against Arsenal and not been outplayed at any time. We could have won either game."

Wenger looked anxious and agitated, flapping arms as his team failed to find a winner, but refused to blame his players.

Instead, he bemoaned his team's injuries and made a sour-faced complaint about a penalty not given for an innocuous tug by Lucas Leiva on the shirt of Fabregas, although he did concede the Barclays Premier League title was slipping out of reach.

'Compared to last season we have made progress,' he said. 'Our season has not been disastrous. People expected us to be between 10th and 12th.'