Source: SKY_Sports
Wenger plots United downfall
Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal will look to exploit Manchester United's frailties when the two sides clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday.[LNB] Wenger believes every team has weaknesses and says he has been studying the European champions at their very best and worst in order to plot their downfall.[LNB]The Gunners head to Old Trafford for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final confident they can stifle United's potent attack and cause problems for their back four.[LNB]Wenger said: "When we scout the opposition we watch tapes of them losing and winning.[LNB]"We watch them scoring and conceding goals, so we try to exploit the weaknesses they have, which every team has."[LNB]InjuriesHowever, the Arsenal boss' plans have been hit by injuries, first to his regular backline - although goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is expected to be fit to face United - and now to leading scorer Robin van Persie who is sidelined by a niggling groin problem.[LNB]Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin is ineligible for European fixtures but captain Cesc Fabregas may be deployed in a more advanced role to support marauding wingers Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri.[LNB]"We do not necessarily change our formation depending on who we are playing that day," Wenger said in the May edition of the official Arsenal magazine.[LNB]"We simply try to find the best way to express our own qualities, while also trying to annihilate the strong points of the other team.[LNB]"So it is a compromise. We look for a shape where we can express our strong points, as well as stopping theirs.[LNB]"No formation can ever solve all the problems, but you always try to find the system which suits your players the best and that gets the best out of your qualities."[LNB]QualityWenger knows possession, and making the most of it, will be key to Arsenal's chances of taking an advantage back to Emirates.[LNB]"The technical level is so high in the Champions League, so it is important not to lose the battle in midfield. You have to be defensively sound as well.[LNB]"Most of the time in recent years we have played this formation in Europe because you need to have a good engine and not be outnumbered in the park.[LNB]"The best players in the world play in England now, so that is why the quality is so high."[LNB]
