CHAMPIONS LEAGUE/Barcelona (2) v Arsenal (2):ARSENE WENGER has backed his Arsenal side to resurrect their Champions League hopes in Barcelona tonight against the team he rates as the best he has faced.
The London club looked finished at 2-0 down in the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium last Wednesday.
Wenger admitted that they had suffered from an inferiority complex against the Spanish and European champions. But their comeback to 2-2 has given them renewed belief and despite what Wenger described as his worst injury crisis ahead of a big game, he articulated the confidence that has built within the side.
The Frenchman’s team arrived in Barcelona without several star players, including their captain, Cesc Fabregas, who suffered a fractured leg in last week’s match.
The midfielder Alex Song yesterday became the latest to be ruled out, with a knee injury. However, Wenger noted that Barcelona also have injuries to key players and have shown vulnerabilities in defence which can be exploited.
“It’s Easter, you know, a time of resurrection,” said Wenger, with a smile.
“That’s what we want to do. The players have come back from the dead once and they can do it again.
“They know they escaped being out of the competition and we have a chance that we have to take.
“At 2-0 down last week, I felt we needed a miracle, but always I had hope.
“I know that this team will never give up and I knew that when we managed to get through Barcelona’s passing, we always looked dangerous.
“The tie is more balanced than the impression that people have. They gave us big problems in the first part of the first leg but if you look at the number of chances we created through the whole game, it is quite interesting.
“We have won away in many difficult places in Europe. Barcelona is a place where we have not done it but there is no better opportunity than now.
“My team has such a great mental strength and I believe that they can fight against the odds anywhere in the world. I am confident that, despite the injuries we have, we can do it.”
It was slightly surprising to hear Wenger admit that the inhibitions his team had at the outset of the first leg at the Emirates Stadium were fuelled by the reputations of the Barcelona players. He made it clear that his team could not afford to freeze again.
“It was down to us still being a young team and as well we were a little bit the victims of the reputation of Barcelona.
“They have done it, we have not done it so you always make them bigger – in our heads, they were very big.
“This Barcelona team is the best I have faced because they play at a higher pace collectively. And I don’t think we have ever been dominated so much at home.
“I think there was the psychological influence of us being so used to having the ball and suddenly not to have the ball – certainly the impression was deeper on the players than it should have been.”
Arsenal will be without Song after he received a knock in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Wolves.
“It was a bad surprise,” said Wenger, “because he had a scan on his knee and it is an inflamed cartilage.”
Song filled in at centre-half, for the injured William Gallas, in the second half last Wednesday and had been a possibility to play the same role at Camp Nou.
Wenger will choose between the veteran defender Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre to partner Thomas Vermaelen. Silvestre will start if he can overcome tightness in his hamstring.
Tomas Rosicky is rated as “50-50” to recover from a badly bruised calf following a challenge from the Wolves captain, Karl Henry, which led to the latter’s controversial sending off.
“When you look at Rosicky’s calf, where there is a set of studs marks, you can see that the tackle of Henry was not as innocent as it looked,” said Wenger.
“I’ve never had so many injuries before such a big game but that is why football is interesting. It is never boring.”
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3)
1 Victor Valdes
2 Daniel Alves
18 Gabreil Milito
24 Yaya Toure
22 Eric Abidal
6 Xavi
15 Seydou Keita
16 Sergio Busquets
10 Lionel Messi
11 Bojan Krkic
17 Pedro
Arsenal (4-4-2)
1 Manuel Almunia
3 Bacary Sagna
5 Thomas Vermaelen
18 Mikael Silvestre
22 Gael Clichy
7 Tomas Rosicky
27 Emmanuel Eboue
2 Abou Diaby
8 Samir Nasri
14 Theo Walcott
52 Nicklas Bendtner
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