Liverpool - 1 Arsenal - 2 In the fight for success managers have wretched spells when they feel as if they are trying to thump phantoms.

Gerard Houllier is perturbed. Having improved the attacking potential of the Liverpool side, he now finds himself battling on a more mysterious front. The minds of his players are a greater worry than the abilities of the opposition.

There are no more signings to be made and a dust sheet might as well be thrown over the tactics board. In this defeat by Arsenal it looked as if the side had simply forgotten how to challenge for honours. There was much to admire about Liverpool before the interval but ruthlessness was not among their merits.

Worse still, the team then grew preoccupied with its regrets and let a 1-1 draw shade into a defeat.

"The boys got anxious," Houllier admitted. "It was as if they were saying, 'We have done so well, and didn't get the goals we deserve.' It was as if they wanted to keep the result rather than keep going forward."

In such circumstances talent is just a provocation. It annoys supporters to recognise ability that is not made to count. Harry Kewell put Liverpool in front with a rapacious, first-time drive after an Edu clearance broke from Michael Owen, but his performance is tied to a moodiness that has his impact fluctuating over the course of an afternoon.

Owen himself is usually steadier, yet he malfunctioned before collecting the injury that makes him a doubt for England's match in Istanbul. A lob went high after Kewell's flick had sent him through, as did a header from Steven Gerrard's pacy free kick.

There was excitement for half an hour. Liverpool are no longer monotonous and the tactic of pairing the elusive Kewell and Owen in attack left Arsenal's powerful centre backs lacking anyone to grapple with. Houllier's side, though, could not sustain their display and suffered a second consecutive Premiership defeat.

They do not appear remorseless enough to make up lost ground and challenge for the title. It is Arsenal, mystifyingly, who have turned into the kind of hard-bitten line-up whose results can be better than their displays.

Only the wonderful winner, when Robert Pires bent a 25-yarder round Jerzy Dudek, revealed the Highbury club's virtuoso traits.

Arsenal were level at the interval because Edu's header from a Pires free kick broke off Sami Hyypia for an own-goal.

Arsenal, on their Premiership travels, have followed a valuable draw at Manchester United with a win here and Wenger has cause to acclaim the "solidarity" of his squad. Still, the leniency of Houllier's side was the key to recovery.

With Edu a useful deputy for the injured Patrick Vieira, Arsenal eventually started to pass steadily, even if their old elan was lacking.

Although Ashley Cole had to deny Liverpool a late equaliser by blocking El Hadji Diouf's effort on the goal-line, Arsenal became increasingly composed.

Sol Campbell, back in action for the first time since the death of his father 17 days earlier, gradually recovered his focus over the course of the match.

The professional concerns of footballers are trifling by comparison with those of a bereaved man but Arsenal are performing with fortitude. It remains to be seen if the durability will last if there is a battery of suspensions after the fracas at Old Trafford.