Stevie: Why third is still on

Steven Gerrard claims Liverpool could yet snatch third place if they overcome a 'wounded' Arsenal side on Wednesday.

The skipper knows Arsene Wenger's men will be desperate to bounce back after uncomfortable defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United.

But Gerrard insists Liverpool can claim all three points if they copy tactics employed by Messrs Ancelotti and Ferguson against the Gunners.

"I'm sure Arsenal will be a bit of a wounded animal on Wednesday night," said the No.8.

"But we've certainly got to do what Manchester United and Chelsea have done to them, which is try and give them very little space and hit them on the counter attack. Everyone knows that if you give Arsenal time and space they will absolutely crucify you.

"It's a massive game for us and the target on Wednesday night is to try and get a result where we can push on and try and get third place.

"Obviously at the end of the season our target is a top-four finish, but if Arsenal give us any sniff of catching them then we want to grab it and hopefully that will be on Wednesday night."

Gerrard claims Liverpool have yet to reach top form despite seven league games undefeated.

But he believes they are now showing the kind of fight needed to secure Champions League qualification.

He explained: "I wouldn't say confidence is sky-high in the dressing room, but it's certainly on the way up. It's certainly improving; we're on a good run.

"But we're not playing terrifically well to be honest. The last few performances have been more about being solid defensively and nicking important goals. We can certainly play better.

"We've got to take the criticism on the chin because there's been games this season where we've been beaten and we haven't shown enough fight. But I don't think anyone can criticise us over the last six games as far as effort and commitment is concerned because every single player in the squad has rolled their sleeves up and everyone's fighting for the same thing.

"We've got 17 points out of 21 and we've set the standard now that we want to maintain until the end of the season. If we do that, I'm very confident we can reach that top four.

"Having the Champions League experience and also finishing in the top four for the past few years will hold us in good stead when the big games come up.

"But we're treating every game like a cup final at the moment because we're desperate for this top four. We certainly understand the pressure coming from Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa, and also teams behind them."

Despite his confidence, Gerrard believes the dynamic of the league has changed to the extent where it is now difficult to talk about a 'big four'.

He said: "Because the top four is so important financially to everyone and because every player in the league wants to experience Champions League football, there's a lot of teams fighting for it.

"I don't think you can call it the top four any more. A lot of teams are putting a lot of money in and we've certainly noticed it this year that sides in the middle of the table and down below are making themselves an awful lot harder to beat."