NO FEAR ... Giuseppe
Rossi
Villarreal striker Rossi, 22, says nothing can match
the hostility of Athens where the Spaniards overcame Panathinaikos
in the previous round of the Champions League.
Rossi, a £6million buy from United 18 months ago,
scored in the tie to get Villarreal through and was also a handful
in the 1-1 first-leg draw with the Gunners in Spain.
He has scored 23 goals in just 50 games for
Villarreal.
A win tomorrow will open up the possibility of a
semi-final against United.
Rossi said: “I know all about playing Arsenal from my
time at United and I’m sure their fans will be booing me because of
that.
“But that’s no problem to me because when I get stick,
I go even harder to get a goal.
“In any case the atmosphere won’t be a major influence.
Fans in London are nothing like those in Athens and I’m looking
forward to celebrating a goal there.”
Rossi points out that Villarreal nicked a 2-1 win in
Greece after drawing 1-1 at home — and he is convinced his side can
repeat the dose tonight.
He said: “We always seem to score on our travels and if
we get the first goal I am convinced we will go through.
“We actually missed a big chance in the home game when
we let Arsenal dominate the ball for too long.
“We know Cesc Fabregas is the Arsenal star but Emmanuel
Adebayor is dangerous always and showed in the first match how he
can affect a match with just one movement. He is an excellent
striker and we must stop him.
“We have injuries to Santi Cazorla and Marcos Senna.
They are important players but now is the real moment for the rest
of us to demonstrate that we have a squad able to save even the
worse situations.
“We have studied every detail of this game. It’s our
match of the year and we aim to show Arsenal are not really
superior to Villarreal.
“Other clubs in the Premier League have won in the
Emirates Stadium and so can we.”
But Villarreal are struggling for form after suffering
their third defeat in four domestic games in going down 2-0 at home
to Malaga on Saturday.
Their plight has been complicated by the loss of Spain
midfielder Senna — scorer of a stunning goal in the first leg — who
suffered a leg muscle strain on Saturday.
Villarreal midfielder Robert Pires is upbeat before the
clash with his former club, who beat Wigan 4-1 on Saturday for
their fifth consecutive victory in the English top flight.
Pires said: “Our squad is one of the best in Spain and
in Europe. We can undoubtedly win the Champions League.
“We are going to try to reach the final in Rome. We
know it’s very hard, but I think this squad has a chance of winning
this competition.”
A goalless draw would be enough to seal Arsenal a place
in the semi-finals.
But boss Arsene Wenger has urged his players to take
their destiny in their own hands tonight and promised he has no
intention of going on the defensive.
He insisted: “We know we are in a situation where we
don’t want to be tentative at all. We want to be decisive but you
can only do that if you decide to play in a very positive way.
“I don’t believe that we are a team who can play for
0-0, that’s not our natural way.
“I don’t expect any weaknesses from them. I expect some
strength from us to say ‘Listen, we have the opportunity to get to
the semi-finals, let’s take it.’ I am confident we will and we have
the quality needed to do that but you know from their game that
they can be dangerous as well.”
