Soccer: Wenger reckons Wright can cope

Arsene Wenger is backing Richard Wright to bounce back again from his latest goalkeeping nightmare against some of Europe’s hottest strikers when Arsenal open the second round of the Champions League against Spanish League leaders Deportivo La Coruna.

Wright, 24, was earmarked as the latest long-term replacement for David Seaman when Wenger paid Ipswich £6million for him in the summer.

Seaman’s 11-year tenure as Highbury number one is threatened now by a shoulder injury that has kept him out of the last 10 games and looks certain to keep him out for the next five, in which Arsenal’s entire campaign could be defined.

After facing Deportivo at the Riazor Stadium tomorrow night, they are at home to Manchester United on Sunday and, after the following Wednesday’s Worthington Cup clash with Grimsby, go to Ipswich before their next Champions League assignment against Juventus at Highbury.

Wright’s challenge is to show he has the quality and mental strength to inherit the Seaman legacy.

He made a great start to his Arsenal career with consecutive clean sheets at Derby and Southampton and a match-winning Champions League penalty save against Panathinaikos, but his howlers in a shock 4-2 home defeat by Charlton - including an own-goal - were compounded by the error which gave Tottenham a stoppage-time equaliser in Saturday’s north London derby.

Suddenly the reputation he forged at Ipswich is on the line and critics suspect another sad case of deja vu for Frenchman Wenger, who signed rookie keeper Alex Manninger five years ago expecting him to one day fill Seaman’s boots at Highbury.

The Austrian’s form went backwards and at the start of the current campaign he was packed off to Italian Serie A strugglers Fiorentina for a season-long loan and it is probably the last Highbury will see of him.

Wenger, though, is convinced Wright will not suffer a similar ignominy but warned: ‘‘It takes a special type of player to perform for Arsenal.

‘‘You see many players who look very strong when they are under less pressure and can show their talent but every mistake at a club like this is heavily scrutinised.

‘‘But Wright is a positive type who has shown us already his mental strength to cope with set-backs.

‘‘He had a bad day against Charlton but 24 hours later he bounced straight back when he played against Manchester United in the Worthington Cup and that’s what makes me think he is the calibre to play for Arsenal.

‘‘He knows he will make errors sometimes because everybody does, but his strength is that he wants to learn from those errors.

‘‘He made a technical mistake in the last 10 seconds at Tottenham and the punishment was heavy but I have talked to him about it and he has analysed it well.

‘‘He knows that, otherwise, he had a very good game on Saturday and can still go into another big match with his confidence still high.’’

It is certain Wright’s nerve will be tested by the slick Deportivo side who twice beat Manchester United in the first phase of the Champions League.

Coach Javier Irureta can field virtually two teams of world-class ability including £11million record signing midfielder Sergio and lightning-fast winger Jose Amavisca.

Deportivo are still not as big a name in Spain as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia but good judges here rate them a superior side to those three and Wenger admitted: ‘‘They are one of the best around.’’

Arsenal’s dismal away form in the Champions League - without a victory on foreign soil since February in Lyon and never having won in Spain in six attempts - suggests a daunting task.

Deportivo were beaten in the quarter-finals by Leeds last season and crashed 5-1 at Highbury in the 1999-2000 UEFA Cup fourth round, but their recent exploits against United have made them a team to be feared.

Wenger admitted: ‘‘It is a big night for us, but it would be an ideal way to start the second round if we could get a result here.

‘‘If we could do that it would show why I am not over-worried about our away form.

‘‘We are doing well away in the Premiership. So I cannot see why not in Europe.

‘‘There were special circumstances in our three defeats in the first round when twice we were down to 10 men in the early minutes and had already qualified by the time we went to Germany to play Schalke.

‘‘The players know they have not had the results to reward our efforts this season but I still believe they will come quickly because the team is growing together from game to game.’’

Wenger needs the pace of top-scorer Thierry Henry to keep the pressure off an Arsenal defence already deprived of Seaman and skipper Tony Adams and now probably Martin Keown, too, because of a rib injury.

But Henry remains a doubtful starter despite training in the Riazor Stadium tonight after missing the match at Spurs and his country’s friendly international in Australia because of a swollen ankle.

Wenger admitted: ‘‘I will not decide whether to play him until tomorrow. I don’t want him to risk further damage to the ankle which could put him out of more games.

‘‘Maybe he will be on the bench but whatever strikers we field, we must try to go forward and have a fast start. If you come to La Coruna only to defend you have no chance.’’