Arsenal v Celtic preview

26 August 2009 09:32
Arsenal hold a 2-0 lead over Celtic as they look to secure a place in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. The Gunners produced an impressive performance at Parkhead last week and were rewarded with some good fortune as a William Gallas deflection and Gary Caldwell's own goal put them in command of the play-off tie. They will now be confident of knocking out Celtic in the return leg at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, although Arsene Wenger has stressed to his players there is still a lot of work to do. "It is not job done, it is job to do, to finish. That is how I approach it," said the French tactician. "Celtic have no choice - they will have to come out and have a go at us. "We will be faithful to our tactical approach and will try to put them under pressure, play very high up and try to win the game." Wenger has utilised a fluid 4-3-3 formation to great effect so far this season, with Arsenal scoring 10 goals in two Premier League matches. He is likely to continue with the same system, although there will be changes due to injuries and squad rotation. Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy are set to return to the side after missing the 4-1 victory over Portsmouth on Saturday, while Robin van Persie could be rested. Abou Diaby and Aaron Ramsey are in contention to play, while Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) has returned to training and could be match fit by the weekend. Cesc Fabregas is sidelined with a hamstring problem and Theo Walcott (back), Lukasz Fabianski (knee), Samir Nasri (broken leg) and Johan Djourou (knee) are all still absent. Celtic will drop into the Europa League if they fail to overturn the deficit but manager Tony Mowbray and his players have not given up hope of a famous victory. Mowbray has spoken of the importance of scoring the first goal and defender Caldwell agrees that an upset is still possible. "It's a massive task - we know that," said Caldwell. "We saw in the first game how good they are. "A 2-0 deficit is big but you have to believe we can do something. "To do that we'll have to score the first goal and probably get a few breaks on the night." Celtic beat Dinamo Moscow 2-0 in Russia in the previous round after losing 1-0 at home, while they have also claimed two emphatic victories so far in the SPL. Mowbray will be without the suspended Landry N'Guemo after the midfielder received a yellow card in the first leg. Stephen McManus and Barry Robson are back in full training but have not travelled to London, while Mark Wilson is still out.

Source: SKY_Sports