Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has told his side to take heart from the 2011 Champions League victory over Barcelona ahead of their rematch next week.
The Gunners found themselves a goal down against the Catalans in their last-16, first-eg encounter at the Emirates Stadium five years ago and were left chasing shadows in the first half.
However, they fought back in the second-half to claim a 2-1 win, thanks to late goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin, although Barca triumphed 3-1 in the second leg at the Camp Nou and went on to lift the trophy two months later.
Wenger admits a herculean effort will be required to keep Barca's front-three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez quiet, but is hoping the club's achievement against the Spanish giants late time out can inspire his current crop.
"We suffered for a big part of the game, and we should be encouraged by that," the Frenchman told Arsenal's weekly podcast.
"We suffered in the first half, and in the second half we took slowly over and became very dangerous.
"So that should help us in our game against Barcelona if we have uncomfortable moments, to still have in our minds that we can still win even if it's difficult."
