ARSENE WENGER suggested yesterday that Liverpool had cheated their way to victory over his Arsenal team in last season's Champions League quarter-final.

The Frenchman is preparing for the Premier League showdown against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium tomorrow, but the draw for the Champions League last 16, which paired Arsenal with the Italian club Roma, prompted a wistful look back.

Arsenal had been set fair for progress into the semi-finals on away goals last April, when Emmanuel Adebayor scored in the 84th minute at Anfield to make the scoreline 2-2 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate. Yet the dream was shattered two minutes later, when the Liverpool substitute Ryan Babel went down after a tackle from Kolo Toure to win a contentious penalty.

Steven Gerrard scored and Babel made the game safe with Liverpool's fourth goal in injury time. "It was a dive, you can say that, because Kolo didn't touch him but he [Babel] did it well," said Wenger, who also claimed his team ought to have had a penalty in the first leg when Dirk Kuyt challenged Alexander Hleb. "We had the penalty that was not given and the one over there [at Anfield].

"We were really unlucky in the championship game as well in between the two Champions League ties [that finished 1-1 at the Emirates]. Hleb had a fantastic chance to win the game in the last second, on his own, in front of the keeper. I feel we were especially unlucky in all three matches. Is it still painful? I am more about looking forward but it happens. In football, that's why everybody becomes crazy because it is never like you planned it."

Wenger has spoken out about diving in the past and he even criticised one of his own players, Emmanuel Eboue, for going to ground too easily. "It can happen that your own players dive sometimes," he said. "It is down to the players and to the referees to get it right, and maybe to video assistants. The general situation, though, has improved. I can show you some video replays of 20 years ago. You had some good divers then."

Arsenal's season fell apart with the three matches in seven days against Liverpool and Wenger now senses a similarly defining period this time out. After tomorrow's fixture, in which he described victory as "compulsory", the team travel to Aston Villa on St Stephen's Day in the Premier League and host Portsmouth next Sunday.

"The title race is still very tight because it looks to me that for the first time in six or seven years, the number of points for the winner will be much lower than usual," Wenger said. "Liverpool and Chelsea have dropped many points at home, which means the winner of this league will not get over 80 points."

Wenger attempted to downplay the upheaval behind the scenes at the club, which has seen Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, the holder of a 15.9 per cent shareholding, manoeuvred off the board. She has, though, pledged not to sell her shares. "It has no impact on me," Wenger said. "What is important in a football club is the directors do not speak about technique and that I do not speak about shares. The future is made by the team, by their results and quality, and by the financial management of the team."

He was more bullish, though, about his chances of winning the Champions League for the first time. "I am confident we can beat anybody," he said. "If you tell me we play Barcelona tomorrow, I am confident we can beat them. We were very close in 2006, when we lost one game in the whole season in the Champions League and that was the final [against Barcelona] and we were down to 10 men after 10 minutes so we know we can do it.

"Roma are back to form and are maybe the best team in Italy at the moment. It will be interesting. The form of the day makes a difference. Until now, if you had one bad game, you could catch back. That is finished. If you miss five minutes of the 180, you are out."

Eboue, meanwhile, said he could understand why some Arsenal fans vented their frustrations at him for his poor performance in the Premier League win over Wigan at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month. The 25-year-old Ivory Coast international has pledged to return stronger from the experience.

"They pay money to watch Arsenal [try] to win," he said. "Then when we do not play well, not give our best performances on the pitch, they are very angry.

"I do not blame them, and I hope they will all come out to support us on Sunday, when we will try to do our best and try to win the game for them."