The Slovakia captain says Brendam Rodgers’ men must not allow their rout of the Gunners to go to their heads as they continue their pursuit of Champions League football

Martin Skrtel has called on Liverpool to avoid getting carried away by their stunning 5-1 demolition of Arsenal on Saturday.

Centre-back Skrtel was the unlikely source of the Merseysiders’ opening two goals at Anfield, with the Slovakia captain converting two Steven Gerrard set-piece deliveries inside the first 10 minutes.

That double set the ball rolling for a scintillating Liverpool display, which saw them move four goals to the good by the 20th minute thanks to further strikes from Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge.

Brendan Rodgers’ fourth-placed side now sit just six points behind new Premier League leaders Chelsea after a run of six top-flight games without defeat – reigniting talk of a potential title challenge.

“It was a perfect win for us,” Skrtel told the club’s official website.

“We knew before the game it was going to be tough, and it’s always special when you play big teams like Arsenal.

“We just wanted to start the game well and show we were ready for them – to be leading 4-0 after 20 minutes was perfect. We’re just happy we got three points from the game.

“We are ready. We beat Everton 4-0, we beat Arsenal 5-1 – they are big wins and big points for us. Now we have to be focused for the next game we play, on Wednesday.

“We need to get three points there as well – we’re going from game to game, trying to get as many points as we can.

“We’ll see where we finish at the end of the season. We know what we’re playing for – we’re fighting for our life to get into the top four.”