Arsene Wenger has insisted his Arsenal side can shrug off their underachievers tag and win the Champions League this season.
Despite being a dominant force in the English Premiership since Wenger took over at the north London club in 1996, the Gunners have never gone past the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League.
Arsenal are yet to spark in this season’s competition. They edged out PSV Eindhoven 1-0 before draws against Rosenborg and Panathinaikos saw them lose leads against apparently weaker opponents.
The Gunners welcome Greek double-holders Panathinaikos to Highbury in their latest group E match on Tuesday, with Wenger aware of the pressure to prove themselves at European level.
”I think some of the criticism levelled at us in this competition is a bit harsh,” Wenger said.
”We were seeded in the top eight in Europe and I cannot say we are a disaster. But the expectation is very high and I can agree with that,” the Frenchman added.
”When we win it, they will say we are not great until we win it again, and they are right because you are never great enough.
”Our target is to get through the group stage at least. The requested level for us is to win the Champions League.
”My motivation is to go as far as we can and try to win it. I don’t think the players are burdened by the expectation and it would not be an excuse anyway. At our level, you have to live with that.”
Panathinaikos will be encouraged by the way they forced a point out of Arsenal in the 2-2 draw in Athens thanks to two errors from Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
Wenger is aware he cannot afford such slip-ups at Highbury, given the poor home form that almost derailed Arsenal’s campaign last season.
He added: ”This is a massive game for us. I feel you must be strong at home because even in the knockout stage, if you are at home, you feel you can beat anybody.
”We didn’t have that feeling last year because basically we got ourselves in trouble at Highbury, not away from home.
”We’ve come back from two away games with the sense that we took the minimum out of it, as well as a feeling that we could have beaten those teams. We have five points, one victory and two away draws.
”Panathinaikos will come to defend. They did that at home so I expect them to do that again.”
Itzhak Shum’s side have made a good start to their title defence and travel to Highbury having crushed Panionios 4-0 on Saturday to go third in the table behind AEK Athens and Olympiakos.
Meanwhile, Wenger admitted Arsenal are fragile and still suffering the after-effects of the ”Battle of Old Trafford” where Manchester United’s 2-0 win ended the Gunners’ record 49-match unbeaten Premiership run.
Relegation-haunted Southampton nearly pulled off a shock win at Highbury on Saturday before Arsenal’s Dutch striker Robin van Persie salvaged a 2-2 draw in the last seconds to prevent a rare second successive defeat.
Jose Antonio Reyes is a doubtful starter after being substituted against the Saints with a leg injury but a second goal in two games could see Van Persie replace the Spain forward.
England defender Sol Campbell is still struggling with an Achilles-tendon injury that kept him out of the Southampton match, but up front non-flying Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp, who missed the trip to Panathinaikos, should be available. — Sapa-AFP