Wenger focusing on domestic matters

ARSENE WENGER has called on his Arsenal players to focus on beating West Ham to go top of the Premier League this evening rather than be distracted by their glamour Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.

With former Arsenal captain Thierry Henry now plying his trade at the Nou Camp and current Gunners skipper Cesc Fabregas to return to face his boyhood club, the tie certainly captures the imagination.

However, Wenger insists his squad must concentrate on getting the right result when the struggling Hammers come to Emirates Stadium for today’s late kick-off – where victory would see Arsenal leapfrog Manchester United and Chelsea, who are both not in action until tomorrow.

“If you go to the bookmakers and try to place a few pounds, you will see that we are not favourites against Barcelona,” Wenger said. “Of course they are a good side, but so are we.

“For me, we have a 50/50 game – if we turn up with our best performance we have a good chance to beat them.

“It will be an interesting, exciting game. We have to make sure we have the belief and focus right.

“For the rest I believe it is much more important to focus on the West Ham game than the Barcelona draw.

“We have fought since August for the championship and it is important we keep our mind on what is vital to us – that is the championship, then we can go into the Champions League with the right belief. The West Ham game is the next game, and in football the next game makes your life.

“If we speak about West Ham instead of speaking about Barcelona, that is where we can show we have matured and that we are intelligent.”

Wenger, for one, will not be getting carried away in any pre-match hype ahead of the mouthwatering tie.

The Gunners boss said: “The worry in the modern game is when you go to matches, you do not focus on football any more. When Chelsea played against Manchester City, people were more focused on the handshake of Wayne Bridge and John Terry. I was excited to watch a good game.”

Should Arsenal get past Barcelona, then they would face either Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan or CSKA Moscow, with the second leg scheduled for the Emirates.

Wenger added: “We like to think in our job that to play at home in the second leg is an advantage, but it is not proven at all in the statistics.

“These are ties where the quality of your concentration for 180 minutes and the form of the day is very important.”

Arsenal – currently two points behind United and level with Chelsea, although having played a match more – will welcome back Fabregas today after the influential midfielder missed the wins over Porto and Hull because of a hamstring problem.

However, the prognosis for veteran defender William Gallas is not so positive as he continues to be hampered by a calf injury.

With tough games against Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City on the horizon, West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is all too aware of how important the next seven days will be.

“The next few days will be very important for us, we have massive games coming up. This is a derby. It will be a difficult game and we will give our best because tomorrow’s game will also be important for Tuesday and Saturday. It will be a massive week.”

Zola believes his former side Chelsea are still favourites to win the league though. “They are still the favourites for the title, especially now that they are out of the Champions League. That will be a big advantage,” added Zola.