"Top four still in reach if defensive issues are addressed" by Joel Tracy

Three matches removed from a disappointing early exit from the Champions League, Liverpool - arrayed in a new look 3-4-2-1 formation - are playing better football than they have done for much of this disappointing campaign. Sunday's match, in which the home side dominated possession against visiting Arsenal while registering twenty-seven shots is a testament to that improvement.

The final scoreline, a 2-2 draw salvaged by the hosts seven minutes into injury time reveals a more sobering reality: the Reds' performances - particularly their wasteful finishing and negligent defending - have been nowhere near good enough to mount a serious challenge for the Top Four.

It was always unlikely Liverpool would emulate last season's quick-strike start against visiting Arsenal. Still the home side started brightly, dominating possession as Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, deployed behind an unorthodox front man in Raheem Sterling, probed the Gunners' defence for an opening. While the former Southampton man can point to injury, as well as to Brendan Rodgers' puzzling selections as reasons for a slow start, both he and Coutinho have been among the Reds' most disappointing performers in the first half of the season. Playing behind Sterling, however, supported by midfielders Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard, as well as makeshift wingbacks Jordan Henderson and Lazar Markovic, the pair have looked much more lively, floating in and out of the space afforded by Sterling's quicksilver runs to pick a dangerous pass or to fire through on goal.

Such opportunities were rare in the opening stages of the match however, as the Reds' sharp movement and passing-aided by the Gunners' sloppy build-up play-yielded few scoring chances. Sterling, coming off one of his most impressive performances in what has been a busy campaign was well marshalled by the Arsenal backline as the away side opted to defend deep against the pace of the newly-crowned European Golden Boy.

Liverpool signalled their attacking intent through a few early warning shots, with a dangerous free kick from Gerrard giving way to a neat turn from his compatriot Lallana, who fired wide of the post from inside the area. Lazar Markovic, put through on goal by a lofted pass from Gerrard was denied at close range by a sprawling Wojciech Szczesny, reminiscent of a host of stops made by the dominant David De Gea a week prior at Old Tratford.

In the forty-fifth minute Liverpool finally broke through to assuage fears of a repeat performance of that scoreless outing. After Arsenal conceded possession deep in their own end, Henderson, as he often does when he and Liverpool are at their respective bests looked to get on the front foot immediately after winning possession. Taking a quick glance up, the vice captain found Coutinho, drifting into space on the edge of the area. With a deft swivel of his hips the Brazillian - aided by the darting run of Sterling, which drew the attention of Per Mertesacker - left Mathieu Debuchy for dead before firing home off the left upright with a clinical finish. The midfielder's impassioned celebration, which perhaps betrayed a hint of frustration at his rather quiet start to the campaign was short-lived as Liverpool's defensive frailties again surfaced at a particularly inopportune time.

Near the closing of a half in which he was kept quiet by the solidity of the newly-restored Mamadou Sakho and the threat of Markovic on Liverpool's left side (as well as by the wastefulness of his teammates) Alexis Sanchez won a free kick in a dangerous area after a foul from Gerrard. Sakho and Kolo Toure, pitted against Mertesacker failed to clear the initial ball from the Chilean, which was nodded on to the back post by Flamini, who beat Lucas as Liverpool again failed to clear the danger. The diminutive Debuchy rose above a retreating Martin Skrtel to nod off the bald head of the Slovakian, past the slow-to-react Brad Jones and into the net. Despite dominating possession 65% to 35% and despite out-shooting their guests nine to two, Liverpool headed into the break with nothing to show for their efforts due to an all-too-familiar combination of profligacy in front of goal and haplessness on defensive set pieces.

Skrtel found himself in the spotlight again towards the start of the second half, as an accidental stamp from Olivier Giroud, following a collision with the defender, left a gash in Skrtel's head. The Slovakian bravely carried on following the long stoppage required for the Liverpool medical staff to provide him with some new heavy metal accessories in the form of a few cranial staples. His teammates continued to threaten at the other end, although their wastefulness was typified near the hour mark, at the end of a brilliant move that began with an inch-perfect cross-field pass from Henderson, who found a streaking Coutinho down the left. The Brazillian fed Markovic, who pulled back across the box, oddly left by the goalscorer Coutinho, who perhaps thought his captain was waiting to let loose from just inside the box. Instead Lucas Leiva stepped forward to sky his effort over the bar to continue a goal drought of epic proportions.

Shortly thereafter, Liverpool were again punished for their defensive shortcomings as Arsenal spung a quick counterattack following a wayward longball from Gerrard. Fullback Kieran Gibbs burst forward down into the space vacated by Henderson on the Reds' right hand side, drawing Kolo Toure out wide from his right center back position. A clever flick from target man Olivier Giroud put Santi Cazorla into a dangerous position and left Liverpool scrambling at the back. The Spaniard took advantage of some hapless defending to find Giroud, Arsenal's lone attacker in a threatening position, inexplicably free to slot home through the legs of Jones from point-blank range.

There's plenty of blame to go around: for Sakho and Skrtel, who left Giroud free on the doorstep, choosing to mark no one in his stead; for Jones, who despite being hung out to dry by his defence again raised questions of whether or not the man he replaced, Simon Mignolet might have saved a goal he was unable to stop; for Gerrard, whose ambitious long ball never stood a chance, and which set Arsenal on the counter with his intended target, Henderson, drawn well out of position; and for Rodgers, whose formation, while clearly effective in controlling possession, left his unsteady backline vulnerable to quick counterattacks down the flanks. When Giroud's shot hit the back of the net Liverpool trailed 2-1. It was Arsenal's second shot on goal of the match.

Rodgers swiftly moved to inspire an attacking response from his side, bringing on his two recognized strikers, Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert for Toure and Markovic. Despite creating numerous chances Liverpool's failed to convert throughout the second half, as Coutinho, Gerrard and Lucas all squandered opportunities from dangerous areas, with Coutinho in particular seeming to have left his shooting boots in his locker following his first half opener. Borini, restored to the matchday squad after an apparent stay in Rodgers' doghouse did well to get his head around a cross from Sterling, but his driven effort was tipped over the bar. Liverpool's road forward got even tougher when the Italian was sent off after earning his second yellow card for a high challenge that tore a hole, chest-high, in Cazorla's jersey.

Liverpool fought on, piling forward ahead of a makeshift back two and maintaining pressure in search of an equaliser. And in the ninety-seventh minute Skrtel rose to meet an Adam Lallana corner with the crown of his freshly-stapled head, driving a low header past Szczesny and knotting the score at two. In the dying moments of the match Cazorla ghosted past a helpless Gerrard in midfield before unleashing a last-gasp effort, well saved by Jones to preserve the point.

Coming on the heels of a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, a defeat that landed them firmly in the bottom half of the Premier League table, Liverpool produced a performance that showed it's too early to write off their chances of a Top Four finish. The attacking impetus of Sterling, Coutinho, Lallana and Markovic (not to mention the potential contributions of one Daniel Sturridge), along with their dominance in possession shows that this is a side capable of playing fluid, winning football. Still, Liverpool's defensive shortcomings-particularly in defending set pieces and counterattacks-and their inconsistent finishing must be addressed, whether in the transfer market, on the training ground or a combination of the two in order for this side to challenge for a Top Four berth.

With a slate of relatively winnable matches in the immediate future, Liverpool have a chance to make up some ground on their rivals. But in order to do so, Rodgers and his charges must address the Reds' glaring shortcomings at both sides of the pitch.

Joel Tracy

@Jtras2