Arshavin runs riot as Arsenal share 8 goals with Liverpool

Russian international Andrei Arshavin dominated world football headlines on Wednesday morning after scoring all four of Arsenal`s goals in a 4-4 draw away to Liverpool.

The former Zenit St. Petersburg star was unsurprisingly man-of-the-match after finding the net in the 36th, 67th, 70th and 90th minutes during Tuesday`s thriller.

Speaking in English after the game, an exuberant Arshavin told Sky Sports, "It`s England football!"

"Almost like basketball," he went on. "But I can`t score 90, just four, sorry."

"His performance was outstanding," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who unexpectedly left the forward on the bench for Saturday`s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the semifinals of the FA Cup.

Arshavin opened the scoring in a rollercoaster of a match to give Arsenal a 1-0 advantage at the interval. Goals from Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun shortly after the break put the hosts 2-1 in front.

With over an hour gone, however, Arshavin struck twice in three minutes to give Arsenal a 3-2 lead, his second goal a sweetly-struck curler from 20 yards out that left goalkeeper Pepe Reina with little chance.

Torres leveled the scores in the 72nd minute, and Liverpool then swept forward in search of the goal that would give them all three points and keep up the pressure on league leaders Manchester United. In doing so, though, they left themselves open to a perfect counterattack from Arsenal, Arshavin running almost the length of the pitch to hammer home what looked to be the winner from a Theo Walcott pass in the final minute of the game.

sections: Sport