Wenger eager to make impact

The architect of Arsenal's great revival could not have asked for a more inspiring place to start his biggest managerial challenge than this city of beautiful buildings.

Having watched his side knocked out at the group stage of this competition last season, Arsene Wenger is determined to prove that his acclaimed leadership qualities are not confined to winning domestic trophies.

Perhaps lifting the European Cup this season is a tall order given that Arsenal were drawn in what Wenger beat the media to calling the Group of death. But despite the challenge of Fiorentina, Barcelona and AIK Stockholm, Wenger wants to make an impact and has put the lessons of last season to good use by beefing up his squad to cope with the injuries and suspensions which undermined the team a year ago.

The purchases of Kanu, Davor Suker and Thierry Henry were designed to address last year's failure to take enough scoring chances - most noticeably in Lens and Kiev which ultimately made the difference between Arsenal progressing and not.

This is why Wenger sanctioned Dennis Bergkamp's gruelling cross-continent car trip, so eager was the Arsenal manager for the Dutchman to renew his blossoming partnership with Suker. Bergkamp arrived "as fresh as can be expected" yesterday after a journey of more than 30 hours through France and Switzerland.

Although arriving six hours behind schedule Bergkamp linked up with his Arsenal team-mates after 850-mile road trip and said: "I feel fine."

The striker added: "I got to Florence at around 6 p.m. with my father-in-law, who did all the driving.

"It was a smooth journey. We came through France and stayed in Switzerland last night. Now I feel fine and as fresh as could be expected. I'm looking forward to playing tomorrow night now."

Wenger was clearly unworried by Bergkamp's late arrival but will not name his starting line-up until just before the kick-off tomorrow.

He will see if Bergkamp suffers any reaction to the marathon car trip but is likely to team him with Croat star Davor Suker up front leaving Nigerian striker Kanu, who has just recovered from a thigh injury, on the bench.

But the main worry is Overmars, who missed last night's training with discomfort from the groin strain that has troubled him since the closing stages of last season.

But £10 million record signing Thierry Henry is also vying for a place having been relegated to the substitutes' bench for Saturday's 3-1 win over Aston Villa.

Arsenal's sharpness in attack must be matched by their sharpness at the back. Giovanni Trapattoni's Fiorentina team will play a typically patient Italian game, waiting for the right moments to uncork their three-man attack of Gabriel Batistuta, Enrico Chiesa, who has scored 17 goals in 20 European games for various clubs, and Predrag Mijatovic.

With Manuel Rui Costa pulling the strings in midfield, Wenger was only half joking when he said: "If we want to sleep well tonight we should not think too much of these names."

But Arsenal's defence will be tested as much by the opposition as by their ability to cope with the suspension of Lee Dixon and the likely inclusion in his place of Oleg Luzhny, making his first start since his summer arrival.

The midfield will be without the injured Emmanuel Petit and much depends on the form of his likely replacement Gilles Grimandi.

Ray Parlour is also suspended and here Wenger has various options: Henry, Nelson Vivas or Frederik Ljungberg. There is also a fitness doubt, however, about Marc Overmars.

Fiorentina have not played in this European competition since 1970 though, and with their domestic season just two games old are still waiting for their revamped forward line to bed down.

FIORENTINA (probable): Toldo; Pierini, Padalino, Repka; Di Livio, Rui Costa, Cois, Heinrich; Chiesa, Batistuta, Mijatovic.

ARSENAL (probable): Manninger; Luzhny, Keown, Adams, Winterburn; Vivas, Grimandi, Vieira, Overmars; Bergkamp, Suker.