Preview: Arsenal - Villarreal

Arsenal welcome Villarreal to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening for the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final, which is perfectly poised at 1-1. The Gunners seem to be hitting form at just the right stage of the season but after an even game at El Madrigal, they will certainly not be underestimating Manuel Pellegrini’s team… Red Mist Arsenal might have been overshadowed for much of this season on the domestic front by Aston Villa, but lately the London side have begun to establish themselves in the Premier League again. A dip in form from Villa, coupled with five straight wins from Arsene Wenger’s team, has put them back into pole position to finish fourth in the league, and their win against Wigan Athletic at the weekend leaves them massive eight points clear of fifth spot. In Europe they have not been as inconsistent as they have in times in the league, but they only just scraped through against AS Roma, and were outplayed in much of the first-leg by Villarreal. A strong second-half performance and a superb goal from Emmanuel Adebayor was enough to secure the draw though and they are now favourites to progress to the last four of the Champions League. The Gunners certainly have history on their side too, as they are the only side to beat Villarreal on English soil and have not lost at home in the competition proper since 2004, when they were beaten by Chelsea. Add to that the fact that they have not conceded a goal at home in the competition this season, and it is easy to see why they are favoured to meet either Manchester United or Porto in the semi-final. Missing Men Certainly Arsenal will not underestimate Villarreal though and it would be folly for them to believe that the absences of Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla will decimate the team. Both the injured midfielders will be missed, of that there is no doubt, but such is the way that Pellegrini has assembled this side, that there are replacements for the two. Whether the coach decides to change the tactical approach too away from home remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, they will have to improve on their recent domestic form if they are to progress. Whilst Arsenal have been flying in the Premier League and have retaken fourth spot, Villarreal have picked up just three points from their last four matches in La Primera, and now find themselves behind Valencia in that final Champions League place. Pellegrini assured that defeat to Malaga at the weekend would not have an adverse affect on this match but it is not ideal preparation heading into a game of this importance. If the Spanish side are to win they will have to be both resilient and clinical and could well rely on the likes of Giuseppe Rossi and Ariel Ibagaza to create a few moments of magic. TEAM NEWS Arsenal William Gallas and Manuel Almunia were both injured during the first-leg at El Madrigal and they will be absent from this encounter. Johan Djourou looks set to miss the game too after he picked up a knee injury against Wigan at the weekend and Gael Clichy is out for another two weeks with a back problem. Lukasz Fabianksi will fill in between the sticks for Almunia, whilst at the back, Mikel Silvestre should start at centre-back, and young Kieran Gibbs will play at left-back. Probable Line-Up (4-4-2): Fabianski – Sagna, Silvestre, Toure, Gibbs – Denilson, Song, Fabregas, Walcott – Adebayor, Van Persie Villarreal The two most notable losses for Villarreal are Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, the former of whom was injured in the loss to Malaga at the weekend. Cani and Mati Fernandez are slight doubts heading into the match and, if neither recover, then Manuel Pellegrini will have a real selection headache in midfield. Probable Line-Up (4-4-2): Lopez – Angel, Fuentes, Godin, Capdevila – Cani, Eguren, Bruno, Ibagaza – Rossi, Llorente