PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal:It was a year ago tomorrow that Arsenal emerged from the Bernabeu with the most unlikely of victories over Real Madrid and one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Arsene Wenger cites the 1-0 triumph as the turning point in his side's journey to the final in Paris last May - "It made our season," he recalls - and the match in which his young charges came of age.

"Last year's campaign was great in general and a massive experience for us," said Philippe Senderos, who had just turned 21 when he helped thwart Ronaldo, Zidane and co in Spain. "The fact that we lost in the final makes us want it even more, so we're going to go and prove it in the forthcoming games."

Arsenal travel to PSV tonight, for the third time in five seasons, with the squad from last February's voyage to Madrid largely intact. Twelve of the 18 who made that trip were under the age of 25 and, while there is little doubt the side have matured over the past 12 months, Cesc Fabregas's petulant confrontation with Mark Hughes after the goalless draw with Blackburn on Saturday is cause for concern.

"Cesc is a guy who loves to win, sometimes he gets frustrated and he lets his frustration out," Wenger said last night. "I read what happened and I had a chat with him and he apologised. He said to me: 'Listen, what I did wasn't right'. Also, off the pitch he's very mature and not maintaining that three days later he was right.

"He went to the dressingroom and apologised. It would have been better if he'd not talked at all, but I don't think it was too bad. I admire his willing mentality because without that in our job you go nowhere. You want that winning streak, a controlled one, but I don't think he did too much. He is only 19."

Wenger believes the experience gained from last year's campaign - Arsenal kept clean sheets in every knockout game until the final - will stand them in good stead. They take on a PSV side that struggled in this season's group stages, losing their last two games after a promising start, and Saturday's 2-0 victory at Heracles Almelo came off the back of three league games without a win. "We know we are maybe favourites over PSV by a fraction," Wenger admitted.

The manager will play William Gallas and he will also revert from the 4-5-1 formation he has favoured in Europe to an attacking 4-4-2 featuring Emmanuel Adebayor. "Our younger players have more experience," Wenger said. "Adebayor couldn't play in the Champions League last year because he only arrived in January.

"I feel we started 4-5-1 in the league this season to gain some consistency, but we defend a bit better from the front now. I went 4-5-1 to make us more comfortable at the back, but now we have more experience we can change things and also adapt and use different tactics for different games."

Meanwhile, Wenger last night questioned the right of Chelsea to operate with a deficit of £80 million and warned that unless the club reduces its dependence on the "artificial income" provided by Roman Abramovich their survival is in jeopardy.

Chelsea yesterday announced £80 million losses for the last financial year, a £60 million reduction on the £140 million deficit recorded in 2004-05. Nonetheless, the deficit takes aggregate losses during the Russian billionaire's ownership to £308 million and spending to over £500 million.

"They have a super sponsor," said Wenger of the Premiership champions. "With normal mathematics, minus 80 is minus 80. It is not on the surface of the water, it is 80 miles below water and to survive so deep is normally very difficult. But they have a support that allows them to do it."

Wenger admitted that if Arsenal had received an offer such as Abramovich's for Chelsea then they would not have rejected it, but suggested rules should ensure clubs can only spend as much as they receive.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has outlined plans to make the club self-sustaining by 2010, an objective the Arsenal manager welcomes. "I read somewhere that Abramovich wants to make the club more selfsufficient, which is in my opinion a fair view - that in the long term the club does not depend on his expenditure.

"But at the moment it is. So the club, to survive at this level, depends on Abramovich. And that is it."

Guardian Service