Gerrard still upbeat about Reds' chances

Gerrard, who first captained the Reds five years ago this week, is defiant in the wake of the midweek mauling of Besiktas in the Champions League and the re-established confidence of his team.

"We are keeping pace at the top and we are not at our best yet, while few would argue that Arsenal are playing to their full potential at the moment," he told LiverpoolFC magazine.

He added: "They're on fire and playing out of their skin. But they have not had the problems that us, Chelsea and Manchester United have had with injuries to key players.

"It will be interesting to see how well they perform when they lose a few key players and face more tricky matches."

Gerrard, with four goals in his last five games going into Saturday's clash with Fulham, also considers he is back to his best form after an accepted difficult spell.

He said: "Personally, I played through it and now I have come out the other side, scoring goals and feeling great.

"(As a team) The only thing we can do is get our own house in order and keep winning. Our away form is a massive improvement on last season, and we know we must improve at home.

"But people are saying we are out of it and struggling. Wrong. We are in the first week of November, in a better position than we were this time last season and unbeaten in the league with a game in hand on most.

"Let us see where we are when the prizes are handed out come May, that is what counts."