Growing pains breed determination

LONDON: Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal's growing pains have given his players a steely determination that will ensure there is no Champions League let-down against Sparta Prague.

Wenger's side goes into Wednesday's third qualifying round second leg with a place in the lucrative group stage within touching distance after winning 2-0 in Prague two weeks ago.

But such a comfortable lead can breed complacency as Arsenal found out at the same stage of the competition last season. It won the first leg easily against Dinamo Zagreb, but fell behind early in the return before eventually scraping through.

Wenger is confident there will be no repeat against the Czech champion because his team is so much more mature now.

Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor and company have found out the hard way that the art of closing out matches can make or break a team's season.

Arsenal lost the League Cup final to Chelsea after taking the lead and then squandered the advantage in its Champions League second leg against PSV Eindhoven.

But late winners against Fulham and Manchester City during an unbeaten start to this season have proved it has the mental strength to wear down obdurate opponents.

"We created chances against City but even when things didn't go for us we kept going," Wenger said. "We won in the last seconds at Fulham, we scored a second goal at Prague in the dying moments, we missed a penalty and still won the game on Saturday.

"That is a recognition of what is going on in this team and how we are progressing. You get strength and confidence when you grow older.

"I am mentally stronger now than when I am 19 or 20. Time and experience give you confidence to do something with your talent. They make you realize that you are as good as any other player."

After being perceived as a soft-touch for several years, Arsenal has started to bite back at the bullies this season.

Sparta's gameplan in the first leg was clearly built around the belief it could kick Arsenal out of its stride. But Fabregas's crunching tackle on Tomas Repka, Sparta's hulking defensive enforcer, underlined why that label should soon be a thing of the past.

Togo striker Adebayor is another who often went missing when the going got tough and he acknowledges the team has learned they must be more physical.

"A lot of players have learned that we have to fight hard to win games," Adebayor said. "We know people say 'they are kids and don't want to play as soon as we kick them'.

"But we stand up for it and we are ready for it, if they kick us we are going to want to beat that person.

"They call us kids but we are ready and we will be up for it. That is what the game asked for on Saturday.

"It was a difficult game. They played very well and defended very well but the boss told us to be patient and we kept going which is the important thing.

"I think the team have proved that we can score at any moment, whatever part of the game. That is very good for the confidence."

Wenger expects Bacary Sagna and Philippe Senderos to return from back and ankle injuries respectively. Captain William Gallas is set to miss out with a groin problem.

Sparta warmed up for the trip to London with a 4-1 win at Viktoria Zizkov. A repeat of that score would be enough to eliminate Arsenal, but the Czechs will have to produce the performance of a lifetime to go through.

AFP

(China Daily 08/29/2007 page23)