Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool

Arsenal injected new life into their title bid as Abou Diaby's header saw them end a three-game winless sequence with victory over Liverpool.

Both teams struggled for momentum in a dour first half but the game burst into life after the interval as David Ngog and Tomas Rosicky went close.

Rosicky blasted over and Diaby then capped a period of Arsenal pressure by powering in from the Czech's cross.

Ryan Babel's drive was tipped on to the bar but Liverpool could not level.

Although they pushed hard to salvage a point, subjecting Arsenal to attack after attack late on, the Gunners held out for what could prove a critical win.

It puts Arsene Wenger's men five points behind reigning champions Manchester United and six adrift of leaders Chelsea.

Arsenal came into the match chastened by back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Chelsea and with serious questions being asked about their credentials to win a first trophy since 2005.

Two weeks previously they went top of the league with victory over Bolton but suddenly they were nine points adrift and being written off as title contenders.

So they needed no reminding of how important this fixture might be and that perhaps explained why they looked anxious in the opening exchanges.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard talked of the need to afford Arsenal as little space as possible and the tactic worked early on as the visitors enjoyed the lion's share of possession against their tentative opponents.

But the hosts seemed in no mood to be bullied and responded by upping the tempo of their passing and working extremely hard to prevent Liverpool establishing any sort of rhythm.

Liverpool made one alteration to their back four as Martin Skrtel replaced the suspended Sotirios Krygiakos but, nonetheless, it was easy to see why the Anfield club arrived unbeaten in seven league games with four successive clean sheets.

They were rarely troubled by Arsenal forwards Nicklas Bendtner - making his first start since October - or Andrey Arshavin, although Bendtner was sent thorough on goal by his strike partner but sliced over from an acute angle.

As a desperately disappointing first half drew to a close, skippers Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas began to influence proceedings from advanced central midfield positions but neither had enough quality around them to break the deadlock.

Liverpool felt they should have had a penalty when Maxi Rodriguez's strike appeared to cannon into the arm of Thomas Vermaelen and Pepe Reina saved comfortably from Fabregas after a neat move between the Spaniard and Arshavin.

The half-time whistle came as a relief and, fortunately for all concerned, the second half was a more open affair from the first whistle.

Arshavin drilled a venomous effort into the side-netting and Lucas shot just over when put through by Dirk Kuyt after some careless defending by Gael Clichy.

Both teams were pressing hard for an opener and suddenly the standard of play began to soar.

Gerrard took control of a counter-attack to slot David Ngog through on goal but William Gallas slid in with a perfectly-timed tackle just as his fellow Frenchman was about to shoot.

At the other end, Arshavin put Tomas Rosicky away but the Czech lacked composure and over-hit his touch in a glorious position before Bendtner saw an effort scrambled clear.

By now there was a pulsating ebb and flow to the game and Arsenal were beginning to dictate, Rosicky flashing inches over via a Javier Mascherano deflection.

It seemed a goal was a matter of when, rather than if, and it duly arrived for the Gunners.

Bendtner showed fine persistence to feed Rosicky on the right and he curled in a superb cross for an unmarked Diaby to head home.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.