With one notable exception, most people in football feel a little protective of Arsene Wenger these days. The wonderful individuals he has nurtured, the fine football his teams have played, even Sir Alex Ferguson had warmed to him by the end.

So this was a victory with a feelgood factor, despite its controversial nature. Wenger does not have to wake up this morning jeered as the master of failure. Jose Mourinho’s mud will not stick, for now at least. Arsenal are in the FA Cup quarter-finals having run through a rather substantial minefield.

They were not too horribly scarred by the 5-1 defeat inflicted at Anfield eight days earlier; they were not so distracted by Wednesday’s match with European champions Bayern Munich; they were not exhausted by maintaining a trophy challenge on three fronts.

Howard Webb, the referee, played his part in their win, no doubting that, but this was a gutsy, wholehearted display that had — whisper it — echoes of Mourinho’s Chelsea in its second-half resistance.

Arsenal toughed it out against arguably the most dangerous front three in English football right now. And the bottom line? Wenger is in the last eight and the provocateur Mourinho is not.

Na-na-na-na-na, as they probably don’t say in France.

Did Arsenal get away with one yesterday? Yes.

Webb had a day to forget, culminating in a decision to wave away what looked to be a very straightforward foul in the penalty area by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on Luis Suarez. Having awarded a penalty for a foolish Lukas Podolski trip from behind on Suarez five minutes before, he may have balked at levelling the game from the spot.

A pity. It would have been the right call. Podolski undoubtedly fouled Suarez for the penalty that was given — and converted by Steven Gerrard, his sixth from six this season — while The Ox got none of the ball but plenty of Suarez for the second appeal, criminally ignored.

The best that can be said of Webb’s performance was that he was an equal opportunity offender. Having denied Liverpool their potential equaliser, he then decided not to give a second yellow card to Gerrard for a late, sliding challenge on Oxlade-Chamberlain that looked a sure booking.

It would be wrong to say the mistakes evened out, though. To go down to 10 men late in the game, while drawing 2-2, would not have affected Liverpool greatly.

The consequence of that second penalty decision is there to see in the scoreline and the sixth-round draw.

So did Arsenal deserve victory? Also yes, but only just. They rode a shaky start to lead after 16 minutes, then went two clear from their first attack of the second half. Liverpool’s period of attacking domination came at that point which, considering the match situation, was only to be expected.

This is not a team that will win too many based on stout defence — they have kept only four clean sheets against Premier League opposition since September 1 — and their best gameplan revolves around the threat posed by Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling. Arsenal stood up to this triumvirate better than Liverpool’s defence dealt with Oxlade-Chamberlain.

It was perhaps the workout Arsenal’s back line needed, with Bayern next in town.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, too, was impressive and one hopes that his removal after 77 minutes was a sign Wenger wanted to keep him fresh for Wednesday. Real pace and an instinct for goal are vital qualities against a team as well drilled as Pep Guardiola’s Bavarians, and Oxlade-Chamberlain has both by the bucketful.

He used a poacher’s qualities to sniff out Arsenal’s first goal, then the refreshing directness of a natural wide player to outstrip his man to create the second.

Roy Hodgson is in Manaus glad-handing the Mayor, so may have missed the game, but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s form since his return from injury is decent compensation for the absence of Theo Walcott. He was the difference here, even if his man-of-the-match plaudits might have undergone a slight revision had the foul on Suarez cost the win. It didn’t, however, so all’s well that ends well.

And it may yet end very well for Arsenal if Wenger returns Mourinho’s jibe with interest and lands his first trophy since 2005. The way modern football is governed by extreme finance, however, the FA Cup remains his best chance of that. Either way, short-term this was a big, confidence-boosting win and Wenger was even able to rest a few key players and progress.

Encouragingly, this was also Mesut Ozil’s best performance for some time and he had a part in both goals. For the first, it was his cross that was met by Yaya Sanogo — starting in place of Olivier Giroud — who had a header blocked, then a fierce shot, before the ball ricocheted to Oxlade-Chamberlain, who buried it from 10 yards.

For the second, it was Ozil whose pass set Oxlade-Chamberlain clear on the right, flying down the flank with Daniel Agger in fruitless pursuit, cutting the ball back to Podolski, who finished smartly past the unconvincing Brad Jones.

There were other opportunities — a one-two between Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sanogo which ended in a cross flashing past goal with no Arsenal man in attendance, a corner by Ozil to Per Mertesacker, whose header was tipped over — but it was Liverpool who posed the livelier goal threat, and Arsenal had to be at their best to resist.

Suarez and Sturridge were signalling intent after five minutes, the England striker rounding Lukasz Fabianski but finding the side-netting, and once the first goal had gone in their urgent efforts increased.

Just a minute before Arsenal got their second, a lovely pass inside by Joe Allen found Suarez, whose close control left him with only Fabianski to beat. The goalkeeper saved with his feet — far from the only time his reactions were tested in the second half.

His best save, the finest of the match, in fact, came after 63 minutes when Philippe Coutinho set Sturridge clear, only for Fabianski to make a brave, defiant stop chasing from his line.

His sole error was made late, as the pressure increased, tearing out to catch a Gerrard free-kick, missing it completely and being fortunate that Daniel Agger steered his header wide.

Liverpool players looked gutted, perhaps realising their greatest chance of tangible success — qualifying for the Champions League would be a fine achievement, but no trophies are given for it — had slipped by.

They could win the League, of course, but a lot of teams ahead of them need to stumble, Arsenal among them, and this result should restore self-belief in north London.

As for Wenger, that master of failure, he remains in with a chance of emulating Ferguson’s 1999 Treble. He probably won’t, but his followers can at least still dream — and at this stage of the season that makes him anything but a flop.

—Daily Mail