Theo Walcott will be restored to the ranks tonight
Not even the fact the Arsenal boss takes his young side to the intimidating atmosphere of Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium tonight minus three of his first-choice back four.
The makeshift defence must stop a Turkish side who took the prized scalp of Chelsea in the Champions League last season.
They must also quieten a partisan crowd and England-born Turkey striker and Arsenal fan Colin Kazim-Richards, who scored against Chelsea.
It will be a big night all round, especially for Theo Walcott, who will be restored to the ranks after starting Saturday’s Premier League win over Everton on the bench.
“Theo is back in contention to start,” said Wenger. “It is a good opportunity for him in Turkey because it is a volatile
atmosphere.
“You need character and personality, that you are ready to show you have strength.
“Can we win it? Of course we can. We can win both the Premier League and the Champions League, and I will do everything I can to achieve that.”
Wenger also believes his makeshift back four, missing regular centre-backs Kolo Toure (shoulder) and William Gallas (hamstring) plus right-back Bacary Sagna (knee), will prove perfectly adequate in Istanbul.
Just days after his debut, experienced French defender Mikael Silvestre will make his Euro bow for the Gunners at centre-back, probably alongside Alex Song, with Emmanuel Eboue playing at right-back.
Wenger said: “I’m not worried. We have to dictate our game. We don’t have a team that is built to defend. We have a team that attacks.”
An intriguing backdrop is Wenger’s meeting with Fenerbahce boss Luis Aragones, who stoked up fury four years ago when he racially abused then Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.
The former Spain coach, who led his country to their European Championship success in the summer, shocked the football world with his misguided attempt to motivate Jose Antonio Reyes, then Henry’s club-mate.
The controversial remarks were broadcast on Spanish television, sparking Henry to launch an anti-racism
campaign, saying he could forgive but never forget.
Aragones was fined a paltry £2,000 by the Spanish Football Federation. Wenger, asked if he would shake hands with him tonight, said: “Why not? [Samuel] Eto’o said he had him as a coach and that he was not racist at all.
“During the training session he wanted to motivate Reyes, but it was a very clumsy sentence. The information I have, he is not a racist.
“What I was more sorry about was the attitude of the Spanish Football Federation. It was a regrettable incident, but they didn’t act strongly.”
That incident came ahead of the infamous friendly between Spain and England in Madrid, when a number of black England players were racially abused.
Wenger added: “What happened during that game is not the only time it happened in Madrid. It happened as well in other circumstances where Aragones was not involved, so it looks to be a deeper problem.
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