Olympiacos v Arsenal:Arsene Wenger concedes he is taking something of a gamble by bringing a youthful squad to Athens — but the Gunners manager is convinced his young charges can deliver a big performance against Olympiacos.
With safe passage into the Champions League knockout stages already secure as Group H winners, Wenger will not risk the fitness of any more first-team regulars ahead of Sunday’s crucial Barclays Premier League encounter at Liverpool.
Captain Cesc Fabregas, defenders William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen and Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin all remained in London, while Czech Republic winger Tomas Rosicky is set for around a month out with a groin problem.
As a result, the Arsenal squad which left Luton Airport this afternoon contained 10 teenagers and had an average age of 20.
England forward Theo Walcott was a familiar face on the plane after recovering from a hamstring problem, while Alex Song also made the trip after missing Saturday’s Premier League win over Stoke through suspension.
Veteran Mikael Silvestre — a Champions League winner with Manchester United — will add an experienced head, while goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, Wales international Aaron Ramsey, England Under-21 midfielder Jack Wilshere and Mexico striker Carlos Vela have all played in Europe’s elite competition before.
Reserve-team captain Kyle Bartley, as well as 18-year-olds Craig Eastmond, Luke Ayling and Thomas Cruise — the left-back who has yet to make a first-team appearance of any form, even in the Carling Cup — have also been included in the squad.
With the Liverpool showdown approaching, Wenger insists his first-choice stars need to recover.
“I am happy that we absolutely do not have to win this game,” he said. “All of the players that I have left have little knocks and need a rest, so I travel with a very young team.
“However, we have Walcott who is coming back from injury, and Song who was suspended against Stoke, so we should have a good mixture between young and experienced players.”
Wenger, however, accepts there will be debate over the inclusion of his youngsters.
“It is a risk, because you know that if you do not win the game, you will be criticised,” he added. “But I trust these players to do well.
“They are young, but have a lot of experience already of big games and it will be another chance for them to show how good they are.
“It will give them confidence and belief, because you will see some players tomorrow night that you have never seen at that level for Arsenal.
“It will also be a good opportunity for me to judge how good these players are,”
Olympiacos, who are coached by Brazil legend Zico, are unbeaten at the top of the Greek Super League.
A draw would be enough to see the Greeks — who lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in September — also safely through to the last 16 ahead of Standard Liege. As such, the Belgians are sure to have more than an interested eye on Wenger’s team selection.
Wenger added: “Whether we respect the competition or not will be decided by the quality of our game. That is a gamble I take because I believe these players will do well.”
Arsenal returned to winning ways at the weekend after successive domestic defeats.
Much had been made of the manner of the 3-0 home reverse to leaders Chelsea late last month, with Fabregas saying the Gunners lacked penetration in attack, a role which Didier Drogba fills so well for the Blues.
Wenger accepts with so many players sidelined his team appeared somewhat “lightweight” in the Chelsea clash — but denied that was the main reason for the disappointing performance.
“We had so many players with a physical presence out against Chelsea — like (Nicklas) Bendtner, (Abou) Diaby, Song — that of course we were a little bit lightweight,” said Wenger.
“However, we showed against Stoke, a very physical team, that if you play football well, you can still win. People have jumped to this conclusion because we lost against Chelsea, they linked that with physical presence.
“However, I personally was not convinced with that.”
