Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has warned his young Emirates side that a win against Portuguese Champions Porto is vital in their Champions League clash this week or the Gunners might not qualify out of their group.
Wenger claims that this is the toughest group that the North London side have been involved in, with the Premier League side drawn alongside Dynamo Kiev and Fenerbahce along with Porto.
A late William Gallas equaliser earned Arsenal a point to take back to the Emirates in their last Champions League outing against Ukrainian team Kiev, with Wenger singling out the importance of winning all home game in the Premier European competition.
Wenger said: “This group is tougher than in previous years. It is definitely the most even group we have ever had because there are no easy games.
“That makes the match with Porto more important. We know in the Champions League you qualify with 10 points, so if we win our home games we are through.
“The side we played against Dynamo Kiev was very young. Theo Walcott is 19, Alexandre Song is 21, Denilson is 20. Even Cesc Fabregas is only 21. It is not easy to win away in the Champions League with such a lack of experience."
However, Wenger has also revealed that the ‘big four’ English clubs Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool along with Arsenal are expected to win in Europe by their fans. This is due to the Premiership’s recent prominence in the competition, with the Premier League having a team contest every final since 2005 along with the first ever all English final in 2008.
He said: “From what I've seen so far I would say the four English teams are the favourites. Inter Milan, Barcelona, Lyon and Bayern Munich are all behind them.
“Teams from abroad now know that if you get an English side you have a really tough job. But that means the fans' expectations are even higher. They expect us to beat every team we play because of how well we have done before.
“That is the characteristic of our job - the expectation level is based on what you have done before and then a little bit more.”
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