Source: Team_Talk
Braga chief eyes memorable debut
raga manager Domingos Paciencia maintains his side will set out to make history on their Champions League debut at Arsenal on Wednesday night.[LNB] The Portuguese outfit reached Europe's elite competition for the first time following victories over Celtic and Sevilla to take their place in Group H.[LNB]However, few give them much hope of a result against one of the Champions League's most experienced campaigners - the Gunners having progressed to the knockout stages for the past decade and to the quarter-finals or better in the past three years.[LNB]Yet Paciencia, who guided his team into second place in the Portuguese championship, ahead of Porto, maintains Braga - nicknamed 'Arsenal do Minho' because the clubs share the same colours - will not be overawed by the occasion at the Emirates.[LNB]"It is a unique game in the career of these players. A game like tomorrow can go into history, and that is what we will try to do," said Paciencia.[LNB]"We are conscious about the team we are gong to face and of their quality.[LNB]"We know the distance between Arsenal in London and the Arsenal in Braga is great, the more we can shorten this distance the better.[LNB]"We should try to be superior on the pitch, but we know the other team has great quality.[LNB]"We have to try to have our own moments, to try to achieve things and make history."[LNB]Paciencia continued: "Arsenal are used to playing in the Champions League, for Braga it is the first time in the group stages.[LNB]"The normal thing would be for Braga to lose, but I hope tomorrow that we will have great praise because we have achieved something here, an historic result."[LNB]French international Bacary Sagna maintains Arsenal will not make the same mistakes again this season if they make the latter stages.[LNB]The Gunners were humbled by Barcelona after progressing past the group stages last term and Sagna says his team have learned from that.[LNB]"We are wiser for those experiences," he said.[LNB]"In those games, Barcelona were better than us, but we didn't see the real Arsenal. We have to correct that and keep playing as a team.[LNB]"We know what we had to work on.[LNB]"We know what we need to reach a final and win it."[LNB]Sagna added: "It is a short way to go to Wembley stadium, but a long way to go to the final.[LNB]"We have to give everything to reach it and play game by game."
