Going to United with all Gunners blazing

THIERRY HENRY last night insisted Arsenal will not travel to Old Trafford with any fear on Sunday despite their heavy Champions League defeat by Inter Milan and he warned Manchester United to expect a backlash.

Henry maintained that Arsenal’s Champions League hopes are still not over, despite the psychological blow of their 3-0 loss to the Italian side at Highbury.

Indeed, the Frenchman, who vowed to continue taking penalties despite his miss against Inter, pointed to the way in which Newcastle responded to losing their first three group games last season to make it through.

Patrick Vieira still warned that “if we do not wake up and show how good we are, we’re going to be out of the competition”, and that much was clear from the woeful standard of Arsenal’s defending against Inter.

However, the Arsenal captain joined Henry in maintaining that belief is still high within the squad and promising they would recover in time to face their main title rivals on Sunday at Old Trafford.

Vieira insisted: “When you have a bad day like we had against Inter and concede three goals at home, you want the next game to come straight away.

“That is at Old Trafford so we have the chance to prove everything. We will respond well because I really believe we are strong enough. We will be ready for Sunday.”

Henry added: “I don’t think any of the lads is scared of going to Manchester United, I think that’s the best thing to do now.

“This is one of the biggest games in England, you have to get ready for it, there is no choice.”

Arsenal, who won at Old Trafford last season in the FA Cup but were outmuscled there in the league, will have to quickly plug the alarming holes which have opened up in their defence.

After all, it was the 42 goals conceded in the Premiership last season which cost them the title and Inter

defender Marco Materazzi was proved correct in having labelled them as “naive” in their all-out commitment to attack.

“Maybe the thing we need to learn as a team is when we can and when we can’t do it (attack),” admitted Henry. “That’s the way we played at Roma last season.”

That victory in Rome was Arsenal’s only Champions League victory in their past 10 encounters, a shocking statistic which shows that Wednesday night’s defeat is far from a one-off.

The Gunners nevertheless have the ability and character to recover from this setback, even if they now face trips not only to Old Trafford in the Premiership, but also Moscow and Kiev in the Champions League.

Henry warned that it would be foolish to write off their qualification chances just yet as he declared: “Some people will say we’re out of the Champions League, but then some people said we were going to win it after three wins last season.

“People talk really quickly sometimes. Maybe what Newcastle did last season can be a good thing for us.

“This defeat was a big disappointment but it wasn’t the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last. After France lost at the World Cup, everyone was killing us but you have to lift yourself up again and try to deliver in the Premier League.

“You have to show that was a mistake and try to perform. The Champions League is very important to us but it can take years to win. I just hope that I do win it before I stop playing.”

Henry will now look to lead by example at Old Trafford if Arsenal, who again won a rather tame penalty against Inter, are awarded another spot-kick.

The French international, whose effort was saved by Francesco Toldo, insisted: “It’s happened to me before and it’ll happen again.

“I don’t know any player in the world who has not missed a penalty. What can you do? Full credit to Toldo but I can’t hide. Of course, I will take the next one. Otherwise, I would not be taking responsibility.”

Manager Arsene Wenger has vowed to ensure Arsenal take out their frustration on United. Wenger declared: “We have to make sure that it doesn’t affect Sunday’s game. Manchester United won 5-0 in midweek and are maybe on a high while we’re on a low.

“But we have time to work on that so we can go up there and show how strong we are mentally and how strong our togetherness is.

“We must not become too desperate. We have lost a game at home but we still have five to play in the group, we’re top of the Premier League and we have a big game in front of us.

“That’s a good way to show our character and team spirit. We can complain and cry all night, but it will not change the result. The only thing we can do is to respond well.”