Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool

	Patrik Berger trips Arsenal scorer Freddie Ljungberg (ShaunBotterill/Allsport)

If Steven Gerrard was struggling in his search for self-esteem, he made a glorious discovery at Highbury.

It came at a moment when the spectre of defeat rested heavily on frustrated Liverpool shoulders, when their challenge for a first Championship in 12 years seemed to have all but disappeared.

Freddie Ljungberg had scored for Arsenal, and a Liverpool team already reflecting on a run of just one win in seven Premiership encounters appeared powerless to respond.

Up stepped Gerrard, delivering a pass so magnificent, so magical, that for a second it seemed he had turned Arsene Wenger's side to stone.

Denied any movement in their legs, Arsenal players could only stand and stare as a 55-yard ball delivered with the outside of Gerrard's right boot split first their defence and then the points.

John Arne Riise produced the finish that levelled the scores, leaving Gerrard to run to the touchline to accept the applause of an ecstatic Liverpool bench.

For Gerrard it represented a remarkable reincarnation. On the eve of this contest he had spoken of the mental torment of the last few months, of a time when the strain of performing at the highest level had taken its toll.

'I was very concerned,' he revealed. 'My passing went completely astray.'

Not so in this, the most difficult of arenas. After the FA Cup Final in May, he had been refreshingly candid in describing his midfield battle with Patrick Vieira as a conclusive victory for the Frenchman.

But on this occasion the 21-year-old Englishman enjoyed the edge. It was a delight to watch and it must have encouraged the watching Sven Goran Eriksson.

For Sir Alex Ferguson, too, this must have made for a wonderful spectacle. He had just succeeded in guiding Manchester United back to the top of the Premiership with an eighth consecutive and the sight of two rivals inflicting yet more damage on one another would have been most satisfying.

Ferguson had said he hoped for such results when his team slipped 11 points behind Liverpool at the beginning of the December. How his prayers have been answered.

If the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool have had their chances - Ferguson was bullish enough to suggest as much last week - it would seem they might well have blown them.

Glance at a table from a few weeks back and United's grip on a trophy they have possessed for seven of the last nine years appeared to be loosening. Now the title race is following a familiar pattern.

Not until United come up against their fellow contenders again will we know if they have a defence that can provide the support their forwards require.

But the two teams who traded punches at Highbury will have to show rather more conviction if Ferguson is to be denied a fitting farewell.

Riise's 68th-minute goal was the first attempt on target by a curiously cautious Liverpool and, while Arsenal showed the greater ambition, a draw was as much as they deserved.

An Arsenal side weakened by suspensions and a sprinkling of injuries started brightly enough.

Nwankwo Kanu went close with a header, a Thierry Henry cross struck the Liverpool bar and, when Stephane Henchoz handled a Matthew Upson header, Arsenal had a decent claim for a first-half penalty.

Their domination continued, Ljungberg dragging the ball around an advancing Jerzy Dudek only to shoot beyond the far past before Kanu and Robert Pires both threatened.

An Arsenal goal seemed inevitable and it coincided with Dennis Bergkamp's arrival from the bench after the break.

The Dutchman's delightful ball released Pires and, in a move that mirrored Arsenal's winner at Anfield last month, Ljungberg raced in to meet the France midfielder's cross for his seventh goal in nine starts.

Arsenal's elation was short-lived, however, because six minutes after Ljungberg's goal came Gerrard's moment of genius.

Spotting Riise's run, he dropped the ball into his team-mate's path and then sat back as the Norway international drove his shot past a helpless Stuart Taylor.

Martin Keown was quickest to react but his delayed response was to no avail.

The much-anticipated duel between Henry and Nicolas Anelka never materialised. Anelka was booed and jeered for what the Highbury faithful considered his act of disloyalty in moving to Real Madrid two-and-a-half years ago.

But it was half-hearted stuff on a day when there were more serious issues at stake.

This was an opportunity to see off one Championship rival while reminding another that an eighth title in ten years was by no means guaranteed.