SOCCER - UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW Liverpool (1) v Arsenal (1):ARSÈNE WENGER may have been all bullish confidence as he sat in the trophy room at Anfield last night but at his side Emmanuel Adebayor put the task awaiting Arsenal this evening into proper context.
"Maybe we will have to be even better than we were when we won in Milan," offered the Togo forward as he contemplated the need to overcome Liverpool on Merseyside.
Triumphing at San Siro was once the stuff of fantasy. These days, needing to win at Anfield to remove the hosts from Europe can appear just as hopeless an objective. Liverpool have lost in this competition at home this season, to Marseille back in the group stage, but their reputation in the knockout phase is daunting.
Arsenal won twice here in the domestic cups last term but there is an acceptance in their squad that their hosts are a different proposition in the Champions League.
Wenger may have sensed as much, prompting his bravado, and his tactic may yet work - there is conviction that this can be the Londoners' night.
Similar profligacy to last week's will not be tolerated.
"In the first leg at the Emirates we had a lot of chances to kill the game, and in the end we are sure we'll do just that tomorrow," said Adebayor, who will lead the line this evening having already left his mark on the tie with the opening goal at the Emirates last week.
"We know it's an important game for us and for the club and we have to believe that we can win this. We have the confidence to come through.
"It's important we keep our concentration high and play our football because, whatever happened last week, we have a chance to go through. We must play our game, play with the movement we have in our style and try to fight.
"We know we'll have to fight because it will be so difficult. This is a quarter-final of the Champions League, a second leg at Anfield, and we know what the atmosphere is going to be like.
"But these are the games you want to win. They give you the things we want to achieve. We have done it in Milan and we still have a belief we can do it here."
Adebayor's form has mirrored Arsenal's season, the dynamism and impressive rush of goals that propelled his side to the summit of the Premier League and out of the group stage rather stagnating in recent weeks.
Arsenal have won only twice in 11 games at a critical stage of the season. Adebayor has scored only twice in that stuttering sequence, the forward appearing increasingly fatigued. He was rested from the starting line-up both against Bolton 10 days ago and in the league meeting between these sides on Saturday.
A lack of back-up in his role has dulled his effervescence.
The injury to Eduardo da Silva robbed this squad of another striker and Robin van Persie has been reduced to a bit-part role by injuries virtually since the autumn.
Losing the likes of Tomas Rosicky - the midfielder may miss the European Championship as he struggles to recover from a hamstring problem - has restricted the striker's supply line and necessitated him generating more chances himself.
Nicklas Bendtner is the closest Wenger possesses to a natural replacement for the Togolese but it is open to debate whether the 20-year-old boasts the quality as yet to flourish at the highest level.
In the circumstances, and with his team having been competing on every front until the end of January, there has been no room for Adebayor to cite exhaustion.
"Everyone is feeling good and we want to play as much as possible," he insisted last night. "I can't say I'm tired, and as a footballer it's as much about believing mentally. The most important thing is to be ready for each game. I will give it everything I have in my heart and at the end of the day we will see.
"Liverpool have a good defence and it's going to be very hard and very difficult but, as a forward, it is my responsibility to find a solution in this game to help get us through.
"All the players are ready for the battle - Cesc Fàbregas is ready, Mathieu Flamini is ready, I am ready. We will see now who will win tomorrow. Hopefully it will be us."
Wenger's conviction that his team can prevail at Liverpool tonight and move into the semi-finals of the Champions League remains unswerving, with dreams of a double retained.
"I still believe we will finish as champions in this league," said Wenger.
"The result at Middlesbrough helped a lot. If United had won, I'd have thought we couldn't [ win the league] but, now, I still believe we'll do it.
"And if I didn't believe we could win the Champions League, I wouldn't be sitting here."
Guardian Service
Venue: Anfield Kick-off: 7.45
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