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Red Devils And Rossoneri

The Gunners produced undoubtedly their worst performance of the season at Old Trafford at the weekend as they crashed out of the FA Cup on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline, and one of their worst ever during Wenger's 12 seasons in charge.

It was hardly the best preparation for tonight's Champions League clash against holders AC Milan - although the dent to their pride in losing so comprehensively to their main domestic rivals could spur them to a winning performance at the Emirates tonight.

The Rossoneri represent formidable opposition but Arsenal can take inspiration from Liverpool, who bounced back from the humiliation of Saturday's FA Cup defeat by Barnsley by beating Internazionale 2-0 last night.

No Saturday Repeat

Gunners midfielder Cesc Fabregas knows full well that his team must learn from their display against United or face an early elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Milan.

He admitted he is still reeling from the misery of their FA Cup exit and insists there must be a positive, impressive response tonight.

“We will go nowhere playing like we did on Saturday," he told The Sun. “I don’t think I left my house at the weekend after that game. I just stayed in, watching the tape of the match and thinking about the mistakes we had made.

“We all have to realise we are not perfect and that there are still things we need to improve. Individually, everyone must be better.”

A Quiet Day After Defeat

His manager, Arsene Wenger, also admitted that the nature and margin of the defeat by United had hit every Arsenal player hard.

Wenger said: “All the players were very quiet on the first day back in training. Who wouldn’t be hurt by a defeat like that?

“We want to be the best possible but had a bad day. When you have such a big disappointment, you can sometimes forget just how good you are.

“When you are at the top level, people always expect the worst of you. So now it is down to us to prove we have the quality to cope with this situation. But what is most important is our biggest targets are still in front of us.

“We are five points ahead in the Premier League and have a fantastic opportunity in the Champions League. This game against Milan is such a massive task we can forget about Saturday’s result [at Old Trafford].

We Will Bounce Back

“We will bounce back against Milan, don’t you worry about that. I have huge confidence in the quality, ambition and mental strength of this team. Many have written us off before and we always respond well,” he continued.

Wenger will have Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, Mathieu Flamini and Bacary Sagna available tonight, although goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is still ruled out by a virus.

Fabregas also believes the challenge of taking on the reigning European champions will bring out the best out in the Gunners.

“Playing against their midfield will be the ultimate challenge for us. They might not be doing that well in Serie A but in Europe they are always dangerous,” he said.

The Narrowest Of Margins

And as Arsenal look to expunge the memory of Old Traffiord, Wenger insists they will play their own game against Milan. Indeed, he maintains that the motivation for a good result against Carlo Ancelotti's side will be to get back to playing their distinctive brand of attacking football.

“This is such a big game, such a massive task, that we can forget about Saturday,” Wenger insisted. “Everybody is up for this game and focused on the way we want to play.”

But he accepts there will be little margin for error in a straight knock-out tie over two legs.

“Milan are the Champions League holders. They have quality and experience. We are a team who can challenge them and can beat them, but we all know we need to be at our best to beat them.

“What is important is that we play without the handbrake on and go into the match with desire. We have to play free of pressure and I believe we will do that.

“Milan will start as favourites. But we can express our talents in a game of this magnitude and I will take any victory as long as we don’t concede a goal.”

Source:goal.com