Liverpool vs. Arsenal: Robin Van Persie Saves the Day at Anfield in 2-1 Victory

Over two years ago now, it was a famous halftime speech from Arsene Wenger that generated the headlines in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield.

On Saturday, it might well have been another inspired talk at the break that fired the Gunners into eventual life after what had been a tiresome 1-1 draw.

At the very least, whatever was said in the dressing room motivated a sensational winner, akin to what we'd seen from Andrei Arshavin back in that '09 match.

You could envision the Frenchman's talk on Saturday going something like this, in a manner eerily similar to what Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson instructed his team to do with just seconds remaining in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Jackson, of course, was talking about Michael Jordan.

"Get the ball to Robin, get the hell out of his way."

As he's done with such indefatigable consistency for well on 14 months now, Robin van Persie saved Arsenal once again on Saturday, notching a brace in a valiant 2-1 win over Liverpool that doused any aspirations from the Merseyside club for a top-four finish this season.

It was a decidedly "un-Arsenal" Arsenal performance from the visitors, who have been criticized so frequently in recent seasons for being unable to see their way through matches where they aren't at the top of their game.

The 7-1 wins against Blackburn at home, as we saw less than a month ago, are all well and good, but it's these sorts of gritty, hard-fought road victories that vault a good team into the rarefied realm of excellence.

And a great side is defined by its star performers. Today, you couldn't help but shed a tear of joy that whatever Van Persie's future with Arsenal proves to be, he is still on the books right now, and he is still scoring at a furious pace.

25 league goals in 27 matches is nothing short of historic for the Dutchman, who by my count scored on his only two shots of the match.

His 92nd-minute winner, a sumptuous left-footed volley that beat a helpless Pepe Reina at his near post, was set up by yet another peach of a lofted delivery from Alex Song, who's beginning to make a name for himself as a keen passer of the ball.

It was a spitting image of the two's combination against Everton back on Dec. 10 at the Emirates, when van Persie's lone volleyed effort proved the difference in a 1-0 victory.

You might start calling him the scourge of Merseyside at this rate.

Mirror imagery aside, (actually not yet, as Van Persie was inexplicably allowed as much room on his second goal as had been granted for his first—a header off a superb delivery by Bacary Sagna—in which the Dutchman had left Jamie Carragher in his wake).

The win itself will do wonders for Arsenal's confidence. That makes for a five-match unbeaten run since that 1-2 defeat to Manchester United back in January. Four of those five have been wins.

Wojciech Szczesny, never one to lack for confidence, has said that fourth place is the "absolute minimum" this season.

Given the Pole's exceptional performance on the day, in which he saved a first-half penalty from Dirk Kuyt and provided numerous heroics that gave his side a fighting chance at victory, Arsenal are beginning to look as if they could make a run at Tottenham in third.

In the end, this match will be remembered as one where Arsenal, visibly fatigued by the various international fixtures from midweek (of which nearly all their first-team players took a part), never hit the considerable heights they are capable of.

But in the end, they didn't need to, and perhaps that in and of itself makes all the difference.

Instead, the Gunners produced the sort of hard-fought victory that we've come to expect from title-winning sides such as Manchester United over the years.

Arsenal are certainly a long ways away from being included in that argument, but it must be said that Saturday was a decisive step in the right direction.

They will thank their captain for delivering them from the Anfield cauldron. They will thank the Anfield woodwork (on at least two occasions) for saving them from slipping to defeat.

But most of all, they will thank themselves for an inspired showcase of resolve.

They took on a steely demeanor (none showed that more wholly than defender Laurent Koscielny, who overcame a howler of a first 30 minutes, in which he'd been at fault for an own goal, to finish with an overall solid display), and they got a priceless result.

49 league points is where they currently rest, with a stay in fourth place.

If they keep this up (and March is known as one of Wenger's most successful months), who knows how high they can climb?