LIVERPOOL captain Paul Ince was the hero, but very nearly the villain, as Arsenal's championship party came to a crashing halt at Anfield last night. The England midfielder scored two first-half goals to put his side in control, but what he did in the 64th minute almost wiped all his good work out of the headlines. Ince had been lucky to escape a booking when he threw the ball at Arsenal's wall at a free-kick when, just a couple of minutes later, he launched himself into a reckless challenge on Gunners star and England team-mate Ian Wright on the halfway line. Wright, one of Ince's closest friends, was making his first start for four months at Anfield after recovering from knee, calf and groin injuries but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and England coach Glenn Hoddle, must have feared the worst. Physio Gary Lewin signalled for the stretcher almost at once and it looked as thought Wright faced a battle to be fit not only for the FA Cup Final but also for the World Cup Finals. Thankfully, the diagnosis was merely bruising, news that no-one was more relieved to hear than Ince. He went straight to the Arsenal dressing room after the game to check on his pal and admitted: I didn't mean to do it and the main thing is that Ian is OK. The last thing I wanted to do was put him out of the World Cup. However, the news of Wright's narrow escape was the only bright spot for Arsenal on a miserable night when their performance was as flat as a half-drunk bottle of champagne left over from Sunday's championship celebrations. Wenger rung the changes for this match, resting many of his title-winning heroes, and their lack of familiarity was all too obvious as Liverpool cut through the visitors at will. Roy Evans' team produced stunning, free-flowing football and took the lead in the 27th minute when Michael Owen's tricky footwork in the area opened up the way for Ince to crash a left-foot drive into the bottom corner past Alex Manninger - the first time the young Austrian goalkeeper has conceded a goal in his seven Premiership appearances. Manninger only had three minutes to wait before letting in his second, though, Ince sweeping Steve McManaman's square ball home from a yard out. Five minutes before half-time, the combative midfielder turned provider, nodding McManaman's corner down for Owen to swivel and blast his 18th League goal of the season. The teenager, who only made his first-team debut a year ago, fluffed a golden opportunity to notch his 19th just before the break, missing a penalty after McManaman had been bundled over by Matthew Upson. Arsenal scarcely threatened, with only Ray Parlour and Wright forcing Brad Friedel into anything resembling saves. It was only fitting that the last word went to the home team, Oyvind Leonhardsen smashing a volley into the roof of the net three minutes from the end. Liverpool: Friedel, McAteer, Babb, McManaman, Leonhardsen, Harkness, Riedle, Ince, Owen, Bjornebye, Carragher. Subs: James, Thomas, Murphy, Gudnason, Roberts. Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Bould, Platt, Wright, Wreh, Parlour, Grimandi, Upson, Boa Morte, Hughes. Subs: Vieira, Anelka, Mendez, Lukic, Marshall. Referee: AB Wilkie (Chester-le-Street)

EVANS WANTS THE TITLE NEXT YEAR   ROY EVANS has challenged his players to make a sustained bid for the championship next season. Liverpool proved their class at Anfield last night by sweeping aside newly-crowned champs Arsenal, although the Gunners side they thrashed bore little resemblance to the team that had won nine in a row to steal the Premiership from under Manchester United's noses. However, this 4-0 win proved they can turn on the style, and Evans will demand more of the same when the new season kicks-off in August. There has been much speculation about his future, but the Anfield boss now seems certain to be given at least one more year to end the club's long title drought and he's determined to get the job done. I'm pleased we've finished in third place because we deserved at least that, he said, but we've got to come back with a bigger challenge next year. We've got the ability and the desire and that's what we need. Liverpool have now hit nine goals in two matches - they beat West Ham 5-0 on Saturday - since Evans lost his rag with the players after a lame 4-1 capitulation at Chelsea. If they can keep this sizzling form up over sustained periods next season, in 12 months' time the Kop could be cheering its first championship of the decade. Evans' Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger was less happy with last night's events, even thought a footballing hangover was only to be expected after the joyous celebrations that followed Sunday's decisive win over Everton. But the Frenchman, who rested David Seaman, Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown and Emmanuel Petit among others, refused to offer such a trite excuse for his side's poor showing. We were very disappointing. I never like to lose, but we were beaten by a better team on the night. We had a concentration problem in the first half and although we fought back after the interval we couldn't break through.

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