Instead, the fact that we HAVE to score at Anfield may work in our favour. There can be no room for complacency at the back or a lack of urgency going forward

The general consensus is that Liverpool’s away goal has given them a distinct advantage going into the second-leg. People say that we would have been better off with a 2-1 lead as we could have “sat back and allowed Liverpool to come at us”. However this is Liverpool we’re talking about, at Anfield, backed by the roar of the Kop. That is no “ordinary” opponent to be faced with – sitting back at Anfield is a surefire way of getting overwhelmed. Nor are we the archetypal, “ordinary” team. I remember after we took the lead at the Bridge a few weeks ago through Sagna’s header, the first thing Andy Gray said was: “If the roles were reversed and it was Chelsea one-up, then you could close the book on this game. But Arsenal? I’m not so sure…”

And that is exactly why the 1-1 score at the Emirates may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Of course if we had a goal advantage then we could afford to draw the game and go through. But think about it: is this Arsenal side the kind which could go away from home and shut up shop? I think not. Anyone remember the semi-final in 2006 when we travelled to Villarreal in the second-leg with a goal cushion? Despite claims made prior to the game that we would play our normal game etc etc, we couldn’t mentally do it. It made for a horrible, nervy night in which we barely got out of our own half because we had no impetus to do so. And it’s not like this team can absorb pressure and launch rapid counter-attacks like the Invincibles of Henry, Wiltord, Pires, Ljungberg, Bergkamp and Vieira used to. Imagine heading to Anfield with a 2-1 lead, defending resolutely for nigh-on 85 minutes without showing anything going forward, and then succumbing to a late heartbreaker, kind of like the way Valencia knocked us out in 2001. It would not be a pretty sight.

Instead, the fact that we HAVE to score at Anfield may work in our favour. There can be no room for complacency at the back or a lack of urgency going forward. We have no option but to play our natural game, which is our safest path to victory because, as yet, we are not a team that has mastered different styles of play. By which I mean: we cannot sit on a lead like Chelsea.

Speaking of Chelsea, I take plenty of heart from the way the turned us over in 2004 at the same stage. It was an identical situation – like Liverpool, we went away in the first-leg and fell a goal behind. And just like Liverpool, we clawed one back to go into the home leg with a so-called “fantastic result”. Hell, we even went a goal up in the second-leg, further ramming home our advantage. But then they scored soon into the second-half, and it was jittery from thereon in. With the prospect of extra-time looming and the natives getting restless, we lost our nerve as Wayne Bridge held his to fire the Blues into the semis. It is a painful memory to dredge up. But it is one we should look back on as a strange source of inspiration.