Wenger: I trust my young guns
However, he has backed Mathieu Flamini, 20, and Cesc Fabregas, 17, to make light of the absence of experienced internationals Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu at Highbury (ITV1, TV3, 7.45pm).
Arsenal must defeat Rosenborg to make sure of their place in the knockout stages, but are without not only Gilberto and Edu, who are injured, but also Vieira, who is suspended. The Arsenal captain is also banned for Sunday's clash against Premiership title rivals Chelsea, with Edu not expected to recover fitness in time.
That leaves Fabregas, who made his first Premiership start this season and Flamini, who has so far been on the fringes of the first-team, in the spotlight for two crunch matches.
Wenger admitted: "It puts a lot of pressure on them but it's a good learning process. Ideally I'd like Patrick to be there, but we can get over that. We have played without him before and done well. It's very difficult to plan at the start of the season that you'll be without Gilberto, Edu, Vieira and Lauren.
"But it's happened and I still feel we are good enough to win the game at Highbury as I know these boys will give 100% and they have some big experienced players around them.
"I'm not worried as they are both mentally strong and will put in the needed workrate."
Flamini at least gained experience in Marseille's run to the UEFA Cup final last season, defeating Liverpool and Newcastle en route.
"He's an intelligent boy, has a quick brain, a winning mentality and is a ball-winner. His workrate is tremendous, higher than anybody else at the club, distance-wise," observed Wenger.
As well as that inexperienced duo in central midfield, Wenger will not only keep faith with Manuel Almunia in goal, but has to replace Lauren at right-back as he is also suspended.
With Pascal Cygan injured, he cannot move Kolo Toure across to the flank, but has faith in 20-year-old Justin Hoyte to live up to his potential.
"He has the potential to do it [replace Lauren on a long-term basis]. But there is only one truth showing you can do it out there on the pitch when it matters. Ashley Cole is a great example. When I put him in, he convinced me that I couldn't leave him out any more. But the faith in these players is easier as they've played in big games before in the Carling Cup, such as against Manchester United in front of 67,000 people."
Rarely has the Carling Cup been used as a springboard into the Champions League, but needs must for Arsenal. Victory would guarantee them about 4.3 million in revenue but much greater riches and prestige could lie ahead for the club.
"This week could be the making of our season but we don't consider the negative consequences of a bad game," declared Wenger.
"If you think like that, you can never play well. After the game, no matter what disasters you might imagine, life goes on. But let's just give 100% to win it and then I'm confident we'll have a great chance."
Wenger initially tried to deflect attention from his selection dilemma between Lehmann, who has made numerous errors in Europe, and Almunia, who was sent on loan for three consecutive seasons by Celta Vigo.
However, he said: "You know who will play. You don't think I would take out one goalkeeper for just one game, do you? I don't do that. I have to give him a run for a few games. It's just that I don't want to make this story bigger than it is. If you look at my career, you will see that I have left many big players out for a long time. I've done it with Dennis Bergkamp, Kanu, everybody."
Sol Campbell has revealed that he has agreed to sign a new long-term contract. "It's all agreed. There are just a few things left to sort out. Most of them are already sorted out, it's just the legal technicalities," he said.
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