PARTEY UP FOR MIKEL

Bees ace Wissa buzzes Arteta as Real showdown closes in

- By Ryan Taylor

IF THIS was a practice run for protecting leads - Arsenal failed the assignment.

Thankfully on Wednesday evening at the Bernabeu, the Gunners will be three goals to the good against Real Madrid and will undoubtedly be back at full strength.

But as far as building momentum and maintaining confidence goes, this was hardly ideal preparation for next week's unmissable quarter-final blockbuster in Spain.

Yoane Wissa's 74th-minute equaliser, which cancelled out Thomas Partey’s thunderous opener, now means Liverpool only need three victories to secure the Premier League title.

The Gunners do have bigger fish to fry but in many respects, this was the kind of rusty display that has typified their league campaign and also summarises while they have fallen short.

Arsenal may be undefeated in 21 of their past 22 top-flight matches - but there is no getting away from the fact 12 draws from 32 matches is sloppy and not up to scratch.