Draw dents Gunners' title hopes

Just three days after their European tie ended all square, both teams were back to do battle for league points.

Both managers made several changes, no doubt with one eye on next week's second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, but there was still more than enough talent on display to make for an entertaining encounter.

Recalled striker Peter Crouch gave Liverpool the lead at the end of the first half, with Nicklas Bendtner levelling on 53 minutes.

However, with Manchester United, who play at Middlesbrough on Sunday, still five points clear at the top of the table, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger knew only victory would have kept their slim hopes of the title alive.

Liverpool started well and Crouch soon tested Manuel Almunia, letting fly from 25 yards and forcing the Arsenal goalkeeper to make an acrobatic one-handed save to tip the ball over.

It should have been 1-0 when, after 35 minutes, the Gunners broke quickly through Mathieu Flamini and Theo Walcott. The ball fell to Bendtner just inside the area but the Dane's first-time shot was weak and straight at a grateful Pepe Reina.

But the deadlock was broken three minutes before the break when Reina's kick was flicked on by Yossi Benayoun and Crouch collected the ball on his chest and turned inside Arsenal captain William Gallas before drilling his shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Arsenal, however, earned a point after 54 minutes when Cesc Fabregas sent over a deep cross into the six-yard box where Bendtner timed his run towards the near post perfectly and powered a header into the net.

Arsenal continued to press for a winner, but could have been caught out only for substitute Andriy Voronin to fire over from 10 yards and that was as close as either side came to a winner.