Watch Liverpool

• Sunday showdown at Anfield is pivotal for Merseysiders
• ‘The season starts again now’ says Argentinian midfielder

It is December and Javier Mascherano is talking of starting all over again, which is precisely what Rafael Benítez announced moments after Fiorentina brought Liverpool’s Champions League campaign to a suitably dispiriting end. The match against Arsenal tomorrow, they hope, can mark a watershed for a team over the worst of its injuries and only four points adrift of their depleted guests. But the fact they are longing for a new beginning demonstrates how badly Liverpool have veered off course.

In some respects there is reason behind Mascherano’s optimism. The Argentina captain has recaptured the form that attracted Barcelona’s attention in the summer, and may do so again, snapping at Fiorentina on Wednesday night as though the Champions League trophy was at stake and not disappearing over the horizon. Alongside him for the first time from the start stood Alberto Aquilani, sure of touch if not yet fitness, with Fernando Torres also returning to provide a world class outlet in attack. A victory over Arsenal would lend foundation to the new start although, having failed to build on previous league wins against Manchester United and Everton, it would be unwise to herald a corner turned. All we do know for sure about Liverpool tomorrow is that they can ill-afford to falter.

“December is a great chance for us, a great time to change everything,” said the Liverpoolmidfielder. “Maybe we don’t talk too much now about Liverpool’s season. Maybe we will talk in May if it was a good season or not. The season starts again now. We can’t change what has happened before but we can change the future. It’s difficult for everyone and we want to bring the confidence back. We want to play like we know we can.”

Wigan, Portsmouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa complete the month for Liverpool and a calendar year that began with the club top of the Premier League, presenting its first genuine title challenge in over a decade, ends with the team bereft of form and self-belief.

“It’s about confidence,” Mascherano said. “When you are not winning games in a row, you don’t have confidence and it is difficult to show all the qualities that you have. In football, 80% of the game is played in your head; the other 20% is physical and tactical. So we have got to start winning to bring the confidence back. We are together and we are working very hard in training sessions and in the games but sometimes it just doesn’t go for you. Maybe if we can win, the luck will change and we’ll be confident.”

The Argentinian is among those on whom Benítez depends for the leadership and character required to repair Liverpool’s season to qualify for the Champions League, an absolute necessity for the security of both the club’s finances and its leading figures. Doubts persist over Mascherano’s long-term future at Anfield, although talks on a contract extension have tentatively commenced and a January departure for Barcelona – if they could afford him – appears out of the question. The 25-year-old is reluctant to discuss his personal situation at Liverpool, though has stated: “I have two more years on my contract so I think I don’t have to say anything else.”

He is, however, more effusive on a fixture that last season delivered the final blow to Liverpool’s title hopes with a 4-4 draw. “We know it will be a really difficult game,” he said. “They play really well but we have beaten them here before and we have got to show we have got the players and a team to beat them again. It’s a great chance for us.

“I think in this moment we don’t have to talk too much. We have got to show our quality on the pitch. We can talk for days and days about how we can beat them. It’s important now that we show it. For the sake of the season, we have got to do it again. We beat Man United here this season and we played a good game but we really need to win against a top side to show everyone we can move forward.”

LiverpoolPremier LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk