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LIVERPOOL FC: BABEL: I WASN'T MY BEST

Ryan Babel admits he was disappointed with his own performance during the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

/noticias.info/ The flying Dutchman, who's been one of the Reds top performers since Christmas, was substituted after 57 minutes at the Emirates.

Babel told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I was maybe a little disappointed to come off because you want to play every minute but I was tired. It is new to me to play a lot of massive games in a week.

"We had Everton last weekend and now three games against Arsenal. We don't have this kind of thing in Holland, so it takes a lot of energy. Maybe it was better for the team (that I was brought off)."

The draw leaves both sides with a realistic chance of reaching the Champions League semi-finals going into next week's return leg at Anfield.

Babel admits he and his teammates were satisfied when the final whistle blew, particularly after heavy pressure applied by Arsene Wenger's side in the second half.

He said: "It was a good result for us, we can be satisfied because we got an away goal.

"After the goal from Arsenal I thought it would be difficult to get the equaliser but it came very soon. We had to work very hard, and maybe we had a little bit of luck with some of their chances.

"It was unbelievable when Bendtner kept the ball out but you know when you play Arsenal away that it is going to be difficult. They can play beautiful football.

"I know a lot of people want Arsenal to go through because I hear people say they play better football, but we will see after the second leg and the best team will go through.

"Arsenal have problems in defence and some other things. They play very good and are maybe one of the best sides in Europe but they have problems with direct football and set pieces.

"We can stop them scoring at Anfield. I think it will be a different game there. I am looking forward to it. I was not satisfied with my own performance against Arsenal and I had to defend a lot. I hope it will be a different game for me as well on Tuesday."

Fellow Dutchman Dirk Kuyt was Liverpool's Euro star once more, bagging his sixth goal of this season's Champion League.

"Stevie did really well with the dribble and Dirk arrived into the box at exactly the right time," said Babel. "Everyone knows he's had a difficult year but he's done very well in the last couple of games. He works very hard and when you do that you are going to get goals."

Next up for Babel and co is another trip to the Emirates, this time for Saturday's lunch-time kick off in the Premier League.

He added: "The boss will have to make decisions now on who to start and who to rest. It will be impossible to play with the same XI in three games against Arsenal. I think in this situation rotation is maybe good.

"We arrived back on Wednesday night and we go back on Friday. It's a hard few days! It's strange because you have a lot to do to get there. It's mentally difficult.

"On Thursday we had a lighter training and I think on Friday it will be tactical and about how we will play on Saturday.

"I think Rafa will have already seen the game back a couple of times to tell us what we did good and bad. He'll now tell us how we can do better."

The trilogy of games against the Gunners pits Babel against his good friend Robin van Persie.

The Liverpool man admits the pair shared a joke both before and after the final whistle on Wednesday night.

He said: "We have had a few conversations about the week and a few little jokes. He said afterwards that we were lucky and I said that we tried to give them the feeling that they were better. We'll see who was right after the second leg.

"When you play against friends it's even more special because you want to beat each other." notas_de_prensa_archivo