LIVERPOOL have been urged to let their football do the talking as they aim to return to the Premier League summit this evening.

The race for the championship took an ugly turn last week when Rafael Benitez was accused of arrogance by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Both Ferguson and Blackburn Rovers counterpart Sam Allardyce were upset by a seemingly innocent hand gesture from Benitez in Liverpools thumping 4-0 win against Blackburn 10 days ago.

The Spaniard since dismissed any suggestion of wrongdoing while laughing off what he regards as a co-ordinated attack from the close managerial duo.

Liverpool can further turn up the heat on Fergusons United tonight when they entertain Arsenal, with victory moving the Anfield outfit two points clear ahead of their bitter North West rivals hosting Portsmouth tomorrow.

And Benitezs players have been urged to concentrate on the job in hand and not be influenced by the latest attempt to disrupt their title challenge.

Whats happening on the outside is irrelevant, said Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee. It is peripheral at the end of the day. The only thing we can affect is what happens on the pitch.

It is all about the players. They are a terrific group of players. All we ever do at this football is concentrate on what we can affect. What other people do or say is up to them.

I never had that long in management so you are asking the wrong person about why it goes on!

What matters is what happens on the pitch, and the players have filled me full of confidence all season with the way they have been performing and applying themselves."

Of the fall-out with Allardyce and Ferguson, Lee added: I think it is quite sad really. We only get on with the job we have to do, we try not to consider what other people are thinking or saying about us.

We are a humble football club, we have a healthy respect for everyone and the job in hand and, having that respect, win, lose or draw we have humility about ourselves.

With Benitez unavailable to address the media ahead of tomorrows game, Lee spoke in defence of the Spaniard after the attempts of Ferguson and Allardyce to besmirch his reputation.

What I would say about this manager of ours is, rather than arrogant which he certainly isnt, he is driven, astute, learned and educated and his attention to detail is fantastic, said Lee. All he works for is getting the best out of each and every player.

Every person is a little sensitive to criticism but all that matters at this club is what we are doing and who we are doing it to, which is clearly important now. When we gesticulate on the side it is to our players and to what we can affect.

I am not getting involved in a slanging match with Sir Alex but we know what our gestures are meant for. It is meant for our players and affecting what we do.

Lee forged a good relationship with Allardyce while his assistant at Bolton Wanderers, and admits it was curious his former colleague chose not to mention the contentious incident with Benitez after the game.

I was certainly surprised because we sat together after the match, he came into the room and said nothing about it, said Lee. If he felt that strongly I thought he would have said something to me because we have a good working relationship at the end of the day.

You dont get trophies for being popular. You get trophies for working hard and being studious on and off the pitch. It is not Britains Got Talent, it is a results-driven game.

With Steven Gerrard still recovering from his adductor problem, Benitez must decide whether to retain Lucas Leiva in an attacking midfield role behind Fernando Torres, with Albert Riera, Emiliano Insua, Daniel Agger and Ryan Babel all vying for a recall.