Arsenal thumping in my top three Liverpool performances – Gerrard

The Reds captain says humiliating the Gunners at Anfield ranks alongside the very best matches of his illustrious career but warns his team-mates must maintain their form

Steven Gerrard has placed Liverpool’s 5-1 hammering of Arsenal on Saturday in the top three of his career.

The Reds scored four goals in the first 20 minutes and added another just after half-time against a Gunners side that arrived at Anfield as Premier League leaders.

And Gerrard believes the performance bares comparison with almost any in his 16 illustrious years in the game.
  
“That is right up there,” the England captain told reporters when asked about his team’s display.

“I am trying to think back of a performance – especially in the first half – that I can remember in the last 15 years.

“Maybe one or two in the Champions League got close but that was as explosive as it gets. That’s definitely in the top three performances I have been involved in.

“You are talking about a side that is top of the league with world-class players, ones who are worth £42 million.

“Jack Wilshere, one of the country’s big hopes who we are looking to perform at a World Cup, and (Santi) Cazorla – a World Cup winner. We have absolutely demolished a top team there from start to finish.

“If you stand off Arsenal and give them too much respect, they will pass you to death. They beat us 2-0 last year when we showed them too much respect.”

The win boosts Liverpool’s chances of cementing fourth spot and a place in the Champions League next season, but Gerrard warns it will mean nothing if they slip up against Fulham on Wednesday.
 
“I think the thing after a performance like that is can we motivate ourselves to get close to producing something similar against Fulham?” he questioned.

“We performed fantastic against Everton and then slipped up against West Brom having taken the lead. We should have seen that game out.

“You can set markers and you can have one off games but it means nothing if you don’t continue to play well and get something from it at the end of the season.

“We aren’t going to look back at the end of the season and think ‘how good were we against Arsenal?’ if we never got the top four.”

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