Arsenal will be looking to continue their impressive form this season when they face Napoli in the Champions League tonight. PHOTO: AFP
Wenger’s side are brim full of confidence after opening up a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Swansea on Saturday.
But Wenger is well aware that Serie A high flyers Napoli will be determined to end the Arsenal renaissance at the Emirates Stadium, especially since boss Rafael Benitez and star striker Gonzalo Higuain both want to prove their worth to English audience.
Benitez failed to earn a long-term contract at Chelsea at the end of his interim spell in charge last season despite leading the club to Europa League glory and also securing a top four finish in the Premier League.
Instead Benitez headed off to Italy, where he has already galvanised Napoli to win five of their first six Serie A matches, while also starting their Champions League challenge by beating last year’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at home.
Wenger is not surprised to see his old rival Benitez having an instant impact.
“Rafael Benitez is a great manager and has done well everywhere,” he said.
“He has a vast experience, he has worked in Italy twice, worked in England, worked in Spain.
“All that together makes a manager more confident and more convinced of his opinions and you are not surprised how successful he has been throughout his career.”
Celtic braced for Barca ‘spanking’
Celtic manager Neil Lennon is worried about a ‘spanking’ by a Barcelona side intent on revenge when the two sides face each other in their Champions League Group H clash tonight.
The Scottish champions sprung a huge shock at Celtic Park last November when goals from Victor Wanyama and teenage striker Tony Watt secured a famous 2-1 triumph over the four-time European champions.
Lennon knows the Catalan giants, who will be without the injured Lionel Messi, will be bent on avenging that loss and has identified goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who was a stand-out in Celtic’s win, as being pivotal if they are to avoid a heavy defeat.
“Us getting a spanking goes through my mind, 100%,” he said. “That’s why the goalkeeper is so important.
“He made some big saves in the game last year, like the one he tipped over from Messi. He made some great saves in the Nou Camp as well.
“They will come aiming to rectify what went on last year so I’m very mindful of that as well.
“I don’t feel any pressure going into this game, I can go out and enjoy it. But I don’t want to end up getting well beaten and it affecting the confidence of not just the team but the club.
“So we have to find a way of containing them and maximising the opportunities we get.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.
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