'Frightening' Liverpool warning still holds true after infamous Arsenal incident

Matters are expected to be lively when Liverpool return from their mid-winter break on Sunday week with the FA Cup fourth round visit of Championship side Cardiff City and their vociferous fans.

Nobody, though, will expect it to be quite as volatile as when the Reds stepped out for a similar tie 20 years ago today.

The clash at Arsenal was already steeped in narrative with the pair having met in the final the previous season where Michael Owen's two late goals had snatched the trophy from the Gunners' grasp.

And with the teams having met twice in the previous nine games in the Premier League - Liverpool losing 2-1 at Anfield before earning a 1-1 draw at Highbury two weeks before the Cup showdown - familiarity bred a certain contempt.

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There was incident enough during the first three-quarters of a fiercely-contested tie in which Dennis Bergkamp had opened the scoring during the first half.

But the real drama began in the 66th minute when Martin Keown was sent off for pulling back Owen as he raced in behind on to a throughball from Jari Litmanen.

Four minutes later, it was Bergkamp who saw red after a dangerous challenge on Jamie Carragher by the touchline.

Then, though, came the remarkable moment for which the game will be forever remembered.

With the Arsenal fans fuming at the two quickfire dismissals, Carragher was hit by a coin thrown the crowd. The startled Liverpool man then picked up the object and threw it back towards the offender, resulting in an immediate red from referee Mike Riley.

"No matter what the physical or verbal provocation, I shouldn't have reacted like that and I want to apologise for any offence I've caused," admitted a contrite Carragher afterwards.

"I was frustrated and I did it without thinking in the heat of the moment.

"Everyone who has seen me play regularly will realise that it was completely out of character but I'm not trying to make excuses.

"It was wrong and, as a professional footballer, I should have known better. It's a mistake that I won't make again."

Phil Thompson, who was standing in as Liverpool boss at the time with Gerard Houllier recovering from his heart problem, criticised Carragher but pointed to a wider issue.

"What Jamie did wasn't right, but it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt," said Thompson. "It's frightening.

"More and more we are seeing missiles thrown at the players and it's a shame that a Liverpool player has taken the brunt of this.

"It is sad it may have taken a player to snap and show his frustration before something is done about it.

"In the first case, he was the victim of a dreadful attempted tackle, and then he suffered terrible verbal abuse before numerous coins were thrown at him. There is a lot more to this issue than meets the eye."

While Carragher avoided an FA misconduct charge, he was handed a three-match ban and fined £40,000 by Liverpool, who couldn't find an equaliser in the final 20 minutes and slumped out of the FA Cup.

Two people who initially alleged they were injured by the coin declined to report the allegations, with the Metropolitan Police seeing fit to issue the player with a formal warning following the throwing of an object under the Football Offences Act.

Carragher, the only 24, went on to become a Liverpool legend, making 737 appearances before transforming into a respected Sky Sports pundit.

But with the throwing of objects from the crowd still a problem some two decades later, the words of warning from Thompson seem more relevant than ever.