Arsene Wenger last night
warned that red - hot Fernando Torres is the biggest danger to
Arsenal's Champions League hopes.
Gunners boss Wenger tried to
be upbeat as he insisted Arsenal can win the Double despite being
paired with Liverpool in the last eight - and could end up facing
Chelsea in the semis.
But Wenger did admit that
in-form Torres - the destroyer of Inter Milan in the last round -
is the man they have to stop as they face Liverpool three times in
the space of eight days in Europe and in the Premier League.
Wenger said: "He is going
through a good spell. He had an indifferent spell at the start, but
now he has adapted very quickly.
"He is quick, strong, brave
and that's the kind of competition you want to keep quiet in the
Champions League. You must be particularly careful when he is away
from home. You do not want to give him any counterattacking
chances. He and Steven Gerrard are both very quick on the
break."
Wenger has said that he
wanted to avoid an-all English quarter-final and that he would have
to treat the Champions League games differently to the Premier
League encounter sandwiched in the middle. But he firmly believes
his players can rediscover their form in the Premier League - and
that would help them overcome Liverpool.
Wenger said: " You would
ideally prefer to avoid another English team but we knew that if we
wanted to go all the way through to the final then we would have to
play another English side at some stage. "Football is not
predictable - that's why it's interesting - but at the moment we
are in the position in the Championship where we have the
advantage. So we want to focus immediately - we aren't sitting
there waiting for the Liverpool game.
"It will help us when we play
Liverpool if we are in a good shape in the Championship. We can
play with less pressure. "That shows you how strong you have to be
to deal with both competitions. "This is a cup game, and in a
League game you can concede a goal. In the Champions League you
have seen against Liverpool, against Milan, how vital it is not to
concede at home.
"What Liverpool have done
before doesn't bother us at all, what is very important on the day
is that you are at your best, we need to raise our game on the day,
because it's a cup game."
Wenger also believes Arsenal
have got an ace up their sleeve for the run-in in the shape of
fit-again Dutch striker Robin van Persie.
Liverpool boss Benitez sees
the clash with Arsenal as a chance for Liverpool to prove their
greatness. He said: "You know what, I don't even care about those
people who say that we are not great champions, even though we have
won the trophy and got to the final again.
"I believe strongly that over
the past three years it has got harder and harder to reach the
final, because you must play the Champions of each country to get
there. This season, it is a fantastic achievement to even be in the
quarter-finals, because some sides you can consider to be great
have not made it. We beat Inter Milan who are a fine side, and that
shows our strength.
