Aquilani offers first proof he can fill gap left by Alonso

Ian Herbert reports on the Liverpool newcomer's desperation to show he can finally become as influential in midfield as the man he replaced

(PA)

Even the flush of delight at his first proper evening on the Anfield turf could not keep the unvarnished truth back when Alberto Aquilani reflected on it yesterday. The Italian admitted that arriving at a club which is currently in a "difficult place" has made his task of acclimatising harder and that a first season at Liverpool with virtually no Champions League football is not what he had anticipated when he arrived from Roma this summer. "It's not the season I was expecting when I signed for the club, that's true," Aquilani said. "I was expecting to play in the Champions League, to find ourselves competing for trophies. It is a difficult time to come into the team, because we are in a difficult place. That makes it harder for any player to start with a new side."

The 2-1 injury-time defeat to Fiorentina didn't help the general impression but Aquilani made a thinly veiled plea to manager Rafael Benitez to give him another opportunity against Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday and desist from thoughts that he is still physically vulnerable after his long-term absence with an ankle injury. "I started for the first time in seven or eight months in the first XI – that's very hard," the 25-year-old said. "After that time it's difficult to be fit but I'm happy because I'm playing and that means I'm getting there.

"My ankle is better, fully healed and there weren't any problems. After basically a year without playing it's great to have played so many minutes, because it means I can have more faith that I'm fully fit again. There's no fear at all that it might flare up again. It's really important for me to have played, because the more I play, the better I'll get and the fitter I'll be. I can play better but it was important to start and to run. I need to play, play, play because I'm in a new team. The first half I was okay and then after that a little bit tired, but that's normal. Now I need to work hard in training. I hope I can play against Arsenal."

He's not the only one. The Anfield banner which reads "Il Principino – A Hero has arrived" has been hung at the Kop end in vain most of this season and the Italian manager Marcello Lippi is also looking to Benitez to play Aquilani, reflecting recently that he may consider him for the World Cup if the former Roma player gets adequate playing time.

Benitez's reluctance to play Aquilani more – he had been limited to 27 minutes of play before Wednesday night's 76-minute run – has been puzzling. It seems to have something to do with his steadfast determination to stick with Lucas Leiva, who was the casualty of Aquilani's selection on Wednesday. But the player can surely not have failed to demonstrate that he has something more than Lucas: a greater physical presence, for all of Graeme Souness's inference in his TV analysis that the midfielder's game was all about touch but perhaps lacked Premier League physicality. There was also the ability to ship the ball forward – and quickly – which has been missing with Lucas and Javier Mascherano anchoring the midfield.

"He can dictate the tempo of the game; he's a clever player, a good passer of the ball," Steven Gerrard said yesterday of a player with whom he quickly linked well. "I don't want to tempt fate but he's very similar to Xabi Alonso." That is not how Benitez views it. The Italian is more slightly built than his Spanish predecessor and tends to play higher up the field, where his passing is at its most incisive in the congested area around the penalty box. But there are fewer of the 40-yard balls which were Alonso's trademark.

Mascherano's Anfield future beyond next summer remained in some doubt yesterday as he indicated that there are no contract talks imminent. "I just talk about football – not about contracts or money. I want to play," said the Argentine. "I am playing for Liverpool, I am a Liverpool player. I have two more years on my contract so I think I don't have to say anything else."

In the meantime, if Liverpool – currently seventh in the Premier League – are to make a bid to regain their place in the top four they have to start against Arsenal, where a win would put them just a point behind Arsène Wenger's side in third. "That is very important for us. We have to think about winning each match – we cannot look at the table – and Sunday we need to win," said Aquilani. "It is very important for us to qualify for the Champions League next season."