RAFAEL BENITEZ hailed the debut of £20million man Alberto Aquilani despite watching his Liverpool side slip out of the Carling Cup.
A much-changed Anfield outfit were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in a hugely entertaining fourth round tie at the Emirates last night.
After Fran Merida and Emiliano Insua traded spectacular first-half goals, Nicklas Bendtner notched the winner for the Londoners five minutes after the break.
Benitez, though, saluted the performance of his second string, and was particularly impressed by the late cameo of 77th-minute substitute Aquilani.
It was a first senior Liverpool appearance for the Italian having recovered from ankle surgery undertaken while at former club Roma.
And the midfielder should have earned the visitors a penalty in the closing moments when his overhead kick was clearly handled inside the area by Philippe Senderos, only for referee Alan Wiley to miss the incident.
“The worst thing today was the defeat, but there were a lot of positives,” said Benitez. “The players showed passion, character and quality on the pitch, and Aquilani was one of those players.
“He showed the quality that he has, he showed he can pass the ball in the final third and he can make a big difference.
“Aquilani could be an important player for us. We want to push him, but we cannot push too hard because we know it could be a risk.
