Arsene Wenger: Why can’t we stun brilliant Barca?

For a man who prides himself on attacking, free-flowing football, Arsene Wenger lurches out of his comfort zone when it comes to defending himself against a Barcelona side that, he says, currently hold a knife to his heart.

The Frenchman is convinced his side will find the net against the Spanish champions when they welcome them to the Emirates tonight for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie, but he also admits defensive solidity is more of an issue.

“I think we will score, so I am not too much concerned,” said Wenger.

“But I am more concerned about stopping them from scoring because you can say even at home in the Champions League that 0-0 is not a bad score.

“Because recently we made it always difficult for ourselves by conceding goals at home and basically the rules of the modern European Cup encourage you to defend at home and attack away, because of the importance of the away goal.

“Many times I said that should be suppressed because if you concede a goal at home in the Champions League, it’s a knife in your heart every time.”

If conceding a goal on your own turf really is so fatal, then Arsenal have been murdered in recent seasons.

In their last three last-16 ties, Wenger’s side have conceded a total of eight goals at home and left themselves with impossible mountains to climb in the return fixture.

Such a scenario is understandably a fear for Wenger as he prepares to welcome a Barcelona team who look almost unstoppable.

Their front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar already have 91 goals between them this season.

That knife is suddenly looking very sharp.

“Individually, they have exceptional talent,” said Wenger when discussing Barcelona’s forward line.

“They are the most efficient. When you see the other day that Messi scored his 300th [La Liga] goal in [less than] 340 games, I’ve seen many strikers in my life, but I’ve never seen a record like that. Of course they are top, top class.

“The only way we can do it is by being collectively resilient, having great solidarity and intelligence as well. Let’s not forget we have a good defensive record and a great goalkeeper as well.”

Despite Wenger’s optimism, it will take something special for Arsenal to achieve the 0-0 scoreline that their manager believes would not be a bad result.

Barcelona have only failed to score in three matches this season. Arsenal have failed to score in four of their last seven.

However, while defensive preparation may need to be maximised, one area that will need no cajoling is the home side’s motivation.

Indeed, after watching his team play out a 0-0 draw on Saturday against Hull City in the FA Cup, Wenger actually believes it is easier to prepare for Barcelona.

Unlike when they faced their Championship opponents at the weekend, Arsenal are by no means favourites. Nor can any shred of complacency creep into their game.

“Honestly, of course the difficulty of the task is completely different but it is more difficult to prepare against Hull than Barcelona, because against Barcelona, everyone is naturally focused,” Wenger added.

“It is more to create belief and confidence, because Barcelona are super-favourites in this game.

“Against Hull it is more to raise the urgency level and convince everybody that it is a very difficult game.

“Everyone is convinced that we absolutely need to have, as a squad, total focus to have a chance and that is what I try to raise. Belief, confidence and let’s go for it.”

Wenger does admit that any defensive mindset is against his nature but, as he points out, “Barcelona is a very offensive team.”

Providing the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez with chances could see the tie killed off in the first leg — or even worse the opening 45 minutes.

But for Arsenal, hope lies in their record against Barcelona at the Emirates.

The current European champions have never beaten Wenger’s side at the Gunners’ home and they tasted defeat when they visited in 2011.

Indeed, it is a game Wenger remembers well and one that also gives him confidence going into the task ahead.

“We need to find the right balance between being audacious, because that is what you will need to be against Barcelona,” said Wenger.

“We need to be strong defensively as a unit and not put ourselves in front of a very difficult task in the second leg.

“It’s quite funny because one year we beat them, they played us off the park but we still won the game. That can happen.

“We played Hull and it was 0-0, we can go to Sheffield Wednesday and lose 3-0. So why can’t it be possible the other way around?”

Arsenal (4-2-3-1):

Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Coquelin; Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud.

Barcelona (4-3-3):

Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Neymar, Suarez, Messi.