We'll blow Gunners away, vows Brendan Rodgers

BRENDAN Rodgers believes Liverpool can bring its six-year wait for a home win against Arsenal to an end.

BRENDAN Rodgers believes Liverpool can bring its six-year wait for a home win against Arsenal to an end, having claimed it is now capable of beating anyone, including the English Premier League leader, particularly at Anfield where it has lost only once this season.

Even though a victory tonight would take Liverpool to within five points of Arsenal, Rodgers played down his team's hopes of winning the title, maintaining that while that remains an ambition, finishing in the top four is likely to be a more achievable objective.

A combination of Liverpool's home record -- it has lost only once in its past 18 home games -- and the progress it has made over the past 12 months, though, has given Rodgers the belief that the Reds are capable of defeating an Arsenal side which beat them 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium this season.

To put Rodgers' optimism in perspective, at the same stage of last season Liverpool was seventh in the league having accumulated 35 points. Should it prevail tonight, it will move on to 50 points and within striking distance of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, the main title contenders.

"The big change is we expect to win now," Rodgers said. "When I came in, there wasn't much confidence to consistently win. Now there is and none more so than at Anfield.

"We'll respect our opponents, and none more so than Arsenal, but we'll expect to win and have the confidence to do so.

"There are only 14 more games to go and every single game is critical and every team will look at their rivals and look if they can take points off them.

"So for us we know if we win the game we go to 50 points, five behind Arsenal and three behind the others. So for us it's a big game. We go into it as we normally do -- to concentrate on our performance level. If we do that, the result takes care of itself.

"I think the players have done that throughout this season. Maybe people weren't expecting us to be where we are at this stage of the season but we've certainly showed consistently over a year that we're progressing.

"But of course these games are the opportunities which allow you to make even more of a statement. It's a difficult game -- we know that -- but we go into it with big confidence.

"The bigger the game, the better we've played. If we win this weekend, we close the gap on the teams above us, so we need to make sure the performance is right.

"These types of games are an opportunity to make a statement of the progress we've made."

Alongside Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling heads into the game as one of Liverpool's form players having reclaimed his place in the team after a difficult start to the season in which he was regularly overlooked by his manager. Rodgers believes that the teenage winger is benefiting from a renewed focus and his commitment in training, while the player credits his recent improvement with a more responsible attitude.

"I think the focus on his game is there," Rodgers said. "I see it on a daily basis. He came in over pre-season, worked tirelessly and was bright and has taken his chance this year. You are seeing a boy who is focused, happy and in training he has been unbelievable.

"Technically he is getting better. He realises you have to be right every day of your life, not just every game. I realised I need to stop being shy among the senior boys," Sterling said. "The best way of proving yourself is on the pitch. I had to be more confident.

"I wasn't confident enough to have a shot myself and instead I'd pass it to someone like Suarez. I said to myself that I had to step up and start running at defenders again; taking responsibility. I've also had the chance to do that week in, week out. I can feel a bit of momentum now."

THE TIMES