Wenger out to cause upset

Arsene Wenger has warned Barcelona his young Arsenal side can cause their star-studded team plenty of trouble as the Gunners look to knock the Champions League holders and competition favourites out of Europe.

Arsenal will give captain Cesc Fabregas every chance to recover from a heavy bruising to his leg and knee as the influential Spain midfielder aims to face his boyhood club in the first leg at Emirates Stadium tonight.

"If we produce the best performance, then we can we can beat any side in the world," the Arsenal manager declared.

Barcelona, though, are nevertheless expected to progress into the semi-finals at the expense of the English outfit, as Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a certain former Arsenal skipper Thierry Henry look to take a lead back to the Nou Camp for the second leg. Wenger, however, is confident his youngsters can rise to the challenge and give Barcelona a run for their money.

Wenger added: "What you want from your team is not to worry too much about the strengths of Barcelona, but more focus on our strengths and our qualities.

"We must be brave, go for it and then we have every chance."

The Gunners boss continued: "I do not deny their quality, because Barcelona have an exceptional team - but we are an exceptional team as well.

"The form of the day, the desire, the belief, how much we play for each other will make the difference.

"We have, of course, to cancel their strengths, but Barcelona will have the same problem. They are an individual and collective threat, but so are we.

"I am confident we can respond to the expectation of all people who love football, but also our fans because they want us to do something special and we want to deliver that."