First leg of trilogy vital to Wenger

Arsenal FC manager Arsène Wenger views the challenge ahead as the biggest of his career as he prepares to face Liverpool FC in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Vital period
"It's certainly the highest, because if you look at the next ten days that will define our season," he said. Arsenal play Liverpool three times in a week followed by a potentially decisive trip to Premier League leaders Manchester United FC. "I strongly believe we are in the championship race. On top of that, we play two Champions League games against Liverpool so the next ten days will be vital. The impact of the first game is always vital."

Extraordinary victory
That sequence begins in north London on Wednesday when Arsenal will attempt to build on the momentum gained from Saturday's extraordinary 3-2 victory at Bolton Wanderers FC – down to ten men, they recovered a two-goal deficit to win for the first time in seven domestic matches. It was a timely lift for the Gunners whose triumph away to AC Milan in the first knockout round was becoming overshadowed by troubles on the home front.

Just reward
The prospect of meeting familiar opposition in the UEFA Champions League is now one Wenger relishes, despite the loss to Chelsea FC at this stage four years ago in their only previous all-English tie. "We have the belief we can beat anybody and in any competition," he said. "It's true we had a little dip recently but our victory at Bolton did us a lot of good. It was very important that we got our confidence back and that our mental strength was rewarded."

Long wait
Liverpool also won in Milan to reach the quarter-finals and, having ousted FC Internazionale Milano, are hoping to prevail at Arsenal for the first time in eight years. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez insists "you can always change statistics", but one he will not want altered is his side's impressive record in this tournament. Of the eleven quarter-finals they have contested, the Reds have won eight – and two semi-final victories over Chelsea in the last four seasons prove that the opponents need not be continental for Benítez to have the upper hand.

No surprises
The return of Javier Mascherano from suspension further bolsters his team while for Arsenal, Emmanuel Eboué is likely to come in for Abou Diaby. Both managers know each other too well for there to be any surprises. "You know everything more or less about them, they know everything more or less about you," Benítez said. Wenger concurred: "There is no real surprise. In this kind of game, it is down to the team who can grab the chance they create that makes the difference."

Match-winner
In Fernando Torres, Liverpool have just such a match-winner. In contrast to his Arsenal counterpart Emmanuel Adebayor, the Spaniard is in brilliant form. He scored his 28th goal of the campaign in Sunday's derby success against Everton FC to ensure Liverpool also come into the match full of optimism after their seven-game winning streak had ended at Manchester United the weekend before. "We have a lot of confidence. We have won a lot of games in a row. We are in a good moment and Torres can be a big difference," Benítez said.