Rafa Benitez

CONFIDENT Rafael Benitez has warned Arsenal they will come up against the real Fernando Torres this evening.

The Liverpool manager takes his side to the Emirates for the first leg of their blockbusting all-English Champions League quarter-final with Torres in a rich vein of form.

The Spanish striker took his tally to 28 for the season – and 10 in his last eight games – by netting the winner on his derby debut against Everton on Sunday.

When Liverpool drew 1-1 with Arsenal at Anfield in October, Torres was forced to limp off at half-time after struggling through the first half with an adductor injury.

And Benitez believes a now fully fit and “on fire” Torres can help Liverpool net a potentially crucial away goal this evening.

“We have nothing to be scared of,” said the Liverpool manager.

“When we play in the Champions League, we have a lot of confidence.

“We beat Arsenal 4-1 at home last season and we drew 1-1 at Anfield earlier this season. But the big problem then was we were without Torres for 45 minutes as he was injured and then we had a problem with Alonso.

“I’m sure they will be saying they aren’t worried about Torres, but they will be talking privately about Torres being a big threat.

“Torres scores in big matches. Against Inter Milan, and also Porto and Marseille in Europe, plus important goals against Chelsea and Everton, he has scored against them all.

“He is so competitive and with a very good mentality. Against the top sides you must be focused and confident in yourself.

“Our idea is to win, and if you want to win you have to score. It’s really important to score away from home in these Champions League games. We can beat Arsenal if we work as hard as we have been doing.”

Liverpool have now netted exactly 100 goals this season, with Torres and Steven Gerrard contributing almost half of that figure.

But Benitez said: “I think we have enough power for scoring goals elsewhere in the team. I always prefer two or three players scoring 15 goals than one player scoring 30.

“I’m sure that Babel, Alonso, Kuyt or Gerrard can score goals too, but at the moment we have one player who is on fire.”

In six previous away ties against English opposition in Europe, Liverpool have failed to win any while scoring just one goal – at Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup semi-final in 1973.

They haven’t won at Arsenal since Titi Camara’s Highbury winner in February 2000 and were last season eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup by the Gunners.

However, Benitez reckons the fact tonight’s 200th meeting between the teams is in Europe rather than domestic competition is an important distinction.

“For us, it is better that we are playing them in the Champions League,” said the Spaniard. “It is a good competition for us because we have a very good mentality and players with quality. We understand what to do in each game, so when we approach the games we have more confidence.

“In the Champions League, you play against the top teams in Europe. Because we won the Champions League and reached another final, people think it’s easy. But it’s very, very difficult to progress in the Champions League.

“When you play against a top side, they can play badly but they have very good players who can change games in a moment. That’s a massive difference.

“You can’t promise anything. But we have a lot of confi-dence in ourselves, especially now having beaten Inter Milan and with the team in good form.”

Benitez added: “I remember the games at Arsenal, when we lost 3-0 Crouch had a goal disallowed at 0-0, and in the 2-1 defeat was when Gerrard played a backpass (to Thierry Henry) and Xabi Alonso was sent off.

With the exception of Daniel Agger (foot) and Harry Kewell (groin), Benitez has a full-strength squad at his disposal although Jermaine Pennant didn’t travel and instead played for 76 minutes in the reserves last night.

Javier Mascherano, who is not banned from European competition, will replace Lucas in central midfield while Fabio Aurelio and Alvaro Arbeloa could fill the full-back berths.

Should Jamie Carragher retain his place in the line-up, it will be his 515th game for Liverpool and move him along-side Kenny Dalglish in the club’s all-time appearance list.

Liverpool co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks will both be in attendance this evening for their first game since the home defeat to Manchester United in December, while David Moores and Rick Parry will also be present after a mix-up over tickets was resolved.