Wenger urges players to take inspiration from Juve
The Gunners, top of the Premiership table and unbeaten in the league, are rock bottom of Group B in the Champions League with a solitary point and one goal after defeats against Inter Milan and Kiev and a draw with Lokomotiv Moscow.
Continental struggle is nothing new to Wenger's men, of course, with last season's second group stage exit in March contributing to a miserable nine-match winless streak in Europe.
Tonight's Highbury clash with Kiev who survived a Gunners onslaught to claim a 2-1 victory in the Ukraine a fortnight ago is a must-win game. And Wenger yesterday attempted to bolster the spirits in his camp by highlighting the comeback by Juve last term.
The Italians scraped through the second phase, level on points with third-placed Basle and fourth-placed Deportivo La Coruna, then overcame Valencia in the quarter-finals.
They then beat Real Madrid memorably in the semi-finals and only lost to AC Milan on penalties in the final. Wenger's rallying cry was: "Look at Juventus, who reached the final last season. They were almost knocked out in the group stage but qualified with seven points.
"What I believe is that the margin between being successful or not is very small. So my belief in my team remains unchanged but I can't say we'll win the Champions League because we must qualify first.
"Football sometimes goes for you and sometimes it doesn't. You keep going and my team is very close to doing it. Sometimes, when you look very far ahead, you forget that."
Arsenal's French boss is convinced the best way to prepare for tonight's clash with the side second in the Ukrainian league is by staying calm.
"My players are used to playing under pressure in every game but there will be more pressure tomorrow," said Wenger.
Wenger, who is without midfield general Patrick Vieira (thigh) and centre-back Martin Keown (calf), feels a coherent performance is the only way to lift the burden of goalscoring responsibility from the shoulders of Thierry Henry.
"It is unfair to put pressure on Thierry," added Wenger.
"We saw in Saturday's 4-1 win at Leeds that goals come naturally from everyone if the team plays well. The team is dependent on Thierry but also dependent on big team performances as, when the team performs well, Thierry has more chances to score."
Freddie Ljungberg challenged his team-mates to stand up and be counted in Arsenal's crunch fixture with the Ukrainians.
The Swedish midfielder said: "We're under pressure, we know what's at stake and we have to win."
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