Liverpool's tough defender had stood defiant against waves of attacks from the north Londoners, whose stunning football brought constant spontaneous applause from the Kop on Sunday.

Carragher's reaction after a compelling 1-1 draw in the Barclays Premier League said it all.

He said: "Are Arsenal as good as people say they are? You'd better believe it, I thought they had 12 men out there!"

Liverpool needed an impressive performance of their own to rebuild confidence after last week's humiliation by Besiktas in Istanbul.

And after Steven Gerrard's cracking early drive gave them the lead, Liverpool - marshalled superbly by Carragher at the back - held out until Cesc Fabregas' equaliser 10 minutes from time.

Boss Rafael Benitez and Carragher then joined forces to insist that Liverpool's battling performance against the leaders was the perfect answer to their own club's detractors.

American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were there to witness an outstanding match and reinforce their support for Benitez.

Liverpool, still unbeaten themselves domestically, have suffered heavy criticism due to their poor Champions League form and a run of only two wins in their last six league matches.

But with Gerrard almost back to his best, Liverpool battled to a defiant draw against an outstanding Gunners outfit who arrived at Anfield on the back of 12 successive victories.

Benitez said: "This was a good result against one of the best teams in England and Europe.

"The best answer to our critics of course is to win, but a performance like we managed against Arsenal is also an answer to people who have been critical of us.

"To work so hard, to play as well as we did is a good answer to all those critics."

Worrying injury blows robbed Liverpool of Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso during the frenetic battle and they finished with Javier Mascherano as a passenger due to a foot injury.

Torres was today ruled out for three weeks with an adductor injury, while the timescale of Alonso's absence is yet to be set out after it was confirmed he fractured the fourth metatarsal in his left foot.

Mascherano left the stadium with his left leg encased in a medical 'boot' although it was revealed today he had suffered nothing more than severe bruising..

But at least Liverpool had shown defiance and spirit against Arsene Wenger's exhilarating side.

Carragher said: "Arsenal are a great side, but we were very close to them, we are just six points behind and it was nearly a couple less with that display.

"We battled hard, and we are proud of the way we played with commitment and effort, but Arsenal did play well, they are going to be a tough side to catch.

"Unfortunately we have picked up some more injuries. Torres will be a big loss, but Peter Crouch was excellent when he came on.

"But we have been under a the cosh a bit from the critics, who seem to have forgotten that we are still unbeaten in the league ourselves this season."

Carragher added: "We have been under pressure, people keep saying how bad we have been, but I didn't feel that pressure despite everything that has been written about us since we lost in Istanbul.

"We know we have had too many draws. We have just held Arsenal, which we feel is a good result, but we now must improve our home form."

Fellow defender Steve Finnan accepted Arsenal's quality, saying: "I suppose they were good enough to win the match because of the chances and possession they had.

"We were unlucky with the new injuries, three players could be out, I just hope we can cope with the people who are missing.

"But Danny Agger will be fit soon and hopefully some of the new injuries will not be as bad as people think."

He added: "We know we have not played as well as we can this season, but we are still undefeated in the league after 10 games.

"We need to win rather than draw, but I am sure we will be playing better in the near future.

"We have to stay up at the top, we cannot afford to fall behind, but we still believe we can go very close this season."

Benitez bravely fielded three strikers but Torres was clearly not fully fit and withdrawn at the break. That allowed Crouch into the fray for his best 45 minutes of the season.

Benitez said: "We played with three strikers because we knew we needed goals. If you don't score against Arsenal then you will lose, because they will always score.

"We showed character, the hard work of the team was fantastic and against any other team we would have won. But this was Arsenal, and they are a different type of opponent."