
Arsene Wenger is convinced his injury-hit Arsenal side can produce their own Easter miracle to come back from the dead.
The Gunners head into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona without Alex Song - who had been expected to drop back into defence as veteran Sol Campbell struggles to regain full match fitness - after the Cameroon international was added to a lengthy casualty list with a knee injury.
Arsenal were already missing captain Cesc Fabregas, after he suffered a cracked bone in his leg when winning the late penalty which levelled the tie at 2-2, as well as centre-back William Gallas and Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin.
Wenger openly admits the Gunners are lucky to still have a chance of progress after the way in which they were completely dominated by the holders during the opening stages of the first leg before somehow salvaging a positive result.
"At 2-0 down I felt we needed a miracle, but always had hope. I know this team will never give up," Wenger said.
"The players know they escaped being out of the competition and we have a chance which we have to take.
"It is Easter and we have to resuscitate [resurrect] - that is what we want to do tomorrow night."
Wenger added: "The late come-backs this season show this team has character.
"We were written off before the season started, but there are five games to go in the Premier League and we are still in there.
"In the Champions League it is the same - people have written us off, but we are halfway through and will give a good game to Barcelona."
Despite missing more of his key men at the Nou Camp, Wenger continues to have complete faith in the likes of Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Abou Diaby and creative Frenchman Samir Nasri, who will step into Fabregas' role.
"They can turn up with a massive performance," Wenger declared.
"We have character and quality - and with that you can fight anywhere in the world.
"The problem is not one of individuals, but about having a game-plan and making it work."
Barcelona's central-defensive pair Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique are both suspended, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic - who scored twice at Emirates - is out with a calf problem and Andres Iniesta is again struggling to be fit.
Wenger, however, knows full well the challenge his youngsters face.
"At the moment Barcelona are the best team in Europe and we have to show that we can beat them," he said.
"We were a little bit victims of the reputation of Barcelona, they have done it, we have not done it and in our heads, they were very big.
"It is important we go there with the right attitude.
"We know we have to turn up with 120% commitment, but also intelligence.
"If we expect them to play weaker, maybe we will have a bad surprise.
"We have to first take into account the psychological part and then get a bit tighter in our marking."
Song had been pencilled in to drop back into defence, as he had done following Gallas' calf injury relapse in the first leg, given Campbell can often need more recovery time between games and has been troubled by a tight hamstring.
Wenger will, though, leave a decision on the 35-year-old's involvement as late as possible, with fellow veteran Mikael Silvestre also part of the 18-man squad.
"Ideally I wanted Song available, but he is not, so the decision is between Sol Campbell and Silvestre," said Wenger.
"The disadvantage of Sol is that it is his second game in four days, while the disadvantage with Silvestre and [Tomas] Vermaelen is that it is two left-footed players."
Wenger added: "I will make the decision, but Sol is experienced enough to tell me if he is fit enough or not. I trust him completely to be responsible.
"He is not on an ego trip, and does not want to let the team down.
"At some stage, if he feels fit to play, then I will make the decision about who starts the game.
"However, we have to focus on the team performance - if we do not win the ball and give Barcelona the ball at the Nou Camp, then no matter who plays centre-back, he will have problems."
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น