Source: Daily_Mail
Watch out Arsenal! Gerrard says Reds are back in mood for top-four battle
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard feels Saturday's derby-day win over Everton will boost his side's chances of beating Arsenal and maintaining their Champions League status.Dirk Kuyt's second-half goal handed Liverpool - who had Sotirious Kyrgiakos sent off in the first-half - an important 1-0 win over the Toffees which saw the Reds overtake Tottenham in the race for the final Champions League spot.Rafa Benitez's men are now preparing themselves for another crunch clash against fellow top-four hopefuls Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday. Get in: Steven Gerrard celebrates Liverpool's win over EvertonAnd Gerrard says the Reds now have the confidence to deepen the Gunners' recent woes.He said: 'You always enjoy beating your local rivals but it was the way we did it that was really satisfying, particularly after losing a man after half an hour.'I thought we showed fantastic character, a great attitude and I also thought we played some decent stuff at times. I thought it was a fully deserved win.'You could see what it meant to everyone on the pitch at the end and it was the same again in the dressing room afterwards; everybody is still on a high.'Now we have got to take that high into the next game. It's a tough one, Arsenal away always is. 'But we have used beating Everton as a platform in the past and we've got to do it again. We want to extend our run and go on to better things. Vital: Dirk Kuyt heads home Liverpool's winner'Everton have been on a good run and they are a fantastic side. We knew we would be under the cosh at times.'But we showed fantastic togetherness, we fought for each other and there were a lot of tackles going in and that's why I am really proud of this team.'He added: 'We know there is a long way to go and we want to make sure we are in the top four at the end of the season.'It's performances like this that will get you in there. We have got to try and keep this run going, as we can't afford any slip-ups. There is pressure coming from Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa.'There are a couple of very tough games coming up but if we can show what we have done in the last six games, I don't see why we can't maintain it.' Marouane Chamakh shuns Liverpool approach with confession of desire to join ArsenalGRAHAM POLL: Martin Atkinson lets the Merseyside mayhem unfold as Liverpool and Everton raise red card countLiverpool 1 Everton 0: Relieved Rafa admits Moyes' men let Reds escape