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Barcelona striker David Villa is convinced his side will beat Arsenal to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League next month, despite last week’s 2-1 defeat in north London.

Villa gave a dominant Barca side the lead in the first leg at the Emirates last Wednesday, only to see Arsenal hit back to claim what had looked an improbable victory through second-half goals from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin.

And Barca, semi-finalists or better in four of the last five editions of the Champions League, will need to overturn that deficit to seal progress at the Nou Camp on March 8.

But Villa believes a similar performance at home will be enough for Pep Guardiola’s side.

“I think that if we do things like we did in London, we will be on the right track,” he said. “We will go through to the next round, I’m sure, because we were far superior in everything except for the result (at the Emirates).”

Villa and his team-mates missed a host of clear-cut chances in London, though, and the Spain forward knows passage to the quarter-finals will depend on their shooting accuracy in the second leg.

“We need to perform better in front of goal,” he said. “If we do that we will go through.”

The second meeting with Arsenal has been given extra spice by the Gunners’ controversial signing of 16-year-old Barca midfielder Jon Toral this week.

That move has angered the Catalans, who remain unhappy about Arsenal’s capture of their former youth player Cesc Fabregas in a similar deal back in 2003.

Villa, though, says none of that is on the Barca players’ minds at the moment.

“We are thinking about Mallorca (this weekend’s Primera Division opponents) – that’s what we’re concerned with right now,” he said. “The rest, for the moment, is still far away.

“The Arsenal match is a very important match that we have to prepare for, but before Arsenal we have others and right now, the nerves, the worries and the desire to play are centred on the game against Mallorca.”

Barca maintained their five-point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga with a hard-fought 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night and also face Jose Mourinho’s side in the final of the Copa del Rey in April.

And while Barca coach Guardiola – who signed a new deal yesterday to remain at the Nou Camp until summer 2012 – has played down talk of winning a league, cup and Champions League treble, Villa believes anything is possible for the Catalan club.

“We can fight for the treble,” he said. “We are playing for three titles at the moment, and we are going to try to go step by step, with humility, to try to win all three.

“It will take a lot of hard work, but we are still alive in all three competitions and we are going to fight until the end in all three – we can only promise that.”

Villa’s goal against Athletic means he has scored in the last three games – his best run so far as a Barca player.

“I’m happy with my form and the numbers, although I’m more concerned with how people have reacted to me,” he said. “That tells me I’m doing well.”

The 29-year-old is also delighted at Guardiola’s contract renewal, even if it is initially only for one more year.

“It’s great news for the club,” he said. “He prefers to sign yearly contracts and that’s what works for him, but I would love to play for Guardiola for the rest of my career.”

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Robin van Persie will miss Arsenal’s crucial Champions League clash against Barcelona next Tuesday after being ruled out for at least three weeks with a knee injury.

Van Persie, who was injured whilst scoring for Arsenal in their 2-1 defeat in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, was in good form having netted 11 times in his last 13 games, including the equaliser in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie with Barca, which the Gunners won 2-1.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: “Unfortunately, we had bad news on the scan and he will be out for the next three weeks for sure. It could be longer. The shortest delay we can imagine is three weeks [so] he is definitely out for Barcelona.”

The striker’s absence is a major blow to Wenger, who is without long-term absentees Thomas Vermaelen and Lukasz Fabianski and has said Theo Walcott has little prospect of appearing in the game.

However, Wenger described Cesc Fabregas as a “possible” for the Nou Camp trip after revealing he is making quick progress in his rehabilitation from a hamstring problem.

Wenger also had good news about Cameroon international Alex Song, who anchored the midfield against Barcelona at the Emirates.

“Song has a knee problem as well. From his scan we had good news, it is only blood from a kick on the outside of his knee. He has a good chance for Barcelona,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

Defender Laurent Koscielny, who is nursing a minor hamstring problem, will be fit for the trip to Spain but will be rested for Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round replay against Leyton Orient.

Manuel Almunia will start in goal against the League One side with Wojciech Szczesny on the bench and midfielder Abou Diaby is expected to feature.

“Koscielny has a tight hamstring,” Wenger said. “There is a little bit of fatigue in there as well so we will give him a breather. Almunia needs games so he will play, but Wojciech is all right and will be on the bench.

“Diaby was not in the squad on Sunday. I was cautious with him. He has missed many games this season and I did not want to take a gamble with the intensity of a cup final. He will play tomorrow night.”

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Cesc Fabregas has returned to training and is free of pain, raising hope the Arsenal captain will be fit to face Barcelona in the Champions league next week.

Fabregas limped out of the win over Stoke with a hamstring injury, forcing him to sit miss the club’s defeat to Birmingham in the Carling Cup final.

He also was absent for the FA Cup romp over Leyton Orient on Thursday but has his sights on his former club Barca when the two sides meet again in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

“I am running, getting better and don’t sense any pain,” Fabregas said. “We’ll see how the next few days go.

“We’ll take things day by day. I knew I had to come off against Stoke. I couldn’t afford to stay on and lose three weeks rather than seven days.”

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is optimistic his captain will be fit for the trip to Spain. He said: “I personally hope next Tuesday he has a chance to play in Barcelona. I don’t think he will be involved on Saturday [against Sunderland], but he will train on Sunday and have a final test on Monday morning.”

Wenger added on Arsenal TV Online: “We assessed him today [Thursday] and he is positive about his injury. We feel he has a chance. I do not want to disappoint people so I say he has ‘a chance’, I strongly believe that.”

Arsenal are protecting a 2-1 lead and want their captain back, given the likes of Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Theo Walcott are definitely sidelined , while midfielder Alex Song is struggling to shake off his knee problem.

“Alex Song is out on Saturday and he is doubtful for Barcelona,” Wenger added. “At the moment he has not practiced at all. He has this knee problem that gets better every day, but we’ll assess it on Monday.”

Midfielder Aaron Ramsey, though, could make his first Arsenal appearance since suffering a broken leg just over a year ago as he returns from a loan spell at former club Cardiff.

“There is a chance Aaron could be available in the squad for Saturday. It will be very good to have him back,” Wenger said. “He is getting better and better now. We know he has a great engine, has great passing ability and can score goals as well.”

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Wigan owner Dave Whelan has told ESPNsoccernet that he is happy to continue funding the club and stressed that, when the time comes for him to eventually leave, he will ensure the Latics are in safe hands.
Whelan, 74, has been at the Wigan helm for 16 years, in which time he has overseen the transformation of the club from Division Three minnows to a consistent Premier League outfit.

However, Roberto Martinez’s side are currently facing a relegation scrap and the club recently announced a £4 million loss, prompting questions from auditors about whether Wigan would be able to survive were Whelan to end his association with the club.

But the one-time Blackburn Rovers left back, who made his millions from sportswear giant JJB Sports, has promised he will continue to keep the club afloat with his own money, insisting that he will only “give it away” to someone who shares his passion for football.

“No, there are no worries about the club surviving while I’m around,” Whelan told ESPNsoccernet. “The trouble is I might not be around for much longer, as I’m pushing 75. If it means being around to prop up the club for the next three to five years, then so be it, but I am looking to pass the club on.

“When I say pass it on, I mean give it away, yes. But I will only give it away to the right person. I remember when Sir Jack Hayward gave away his beloved Wolves for £50, and I will do the same with Wigan, but the right person would have to love this club and keep it going and show me that he can do that.

“As it stands, there is no danger to this club, I’ll see to that, but we cannot post losses – it has to run on business lines, it has to live within its means. The bottom line though is that, while I cannot go on forever, there is no chance of this club being sold to just anybody. It will have to be the right person for the right reasons.

“The accounts say that I am propping up the club personally and they are probably right! Why do I continue to do this? Well, I love football, and I love this club. I earned my first pound note playing football, and I owe it to football to keep Wigan alive.”

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Samir Nasri has urged his Arsenal team-mates to go on the offensive against Barcelona, because they’re “not the same team” when pressurised.

The Gunners head to the Camp Nou next Tuesday defending a 2-1 lead, having come from behind to seal an impressive Champions League victory in London.

The two sides met at the quarter-final stage last year, when Arsenal were thumped 4-1 in Barcelona after battling to a 2-2 draw in the opening encounter, but Nasri insists that history will not repeat itself as Arsene Wenger’s team are more “macho” now.

“Barcelona are like Brazil,” he said. “They don’t like it when you put pressure on them and attack them. They want to play their game. If you put pressure on them, they’re not the same team.

“Barcelona seemed much better last year because we’ve become more macho, both physically and psychologically. Some of the players are much better this year than before – Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, myself.

“We’ve all stepped up and become stronger and more macho. Players have stepped up and driven the team forward. We can compete with everyone now.”

Nasri has also expressed doubt over the fitness levels of the Barca team, insisting that they have a tendency to wilt towards the end of matches. Both of Arsenal’s goals in the first leg came in the final quarter, with Robin Van Persie scoring on 78 minutes and Andrei Arshavin finding the net six minutes later.

“We came back in the first leg because physically they dropped,” Nasri said. “This is because the Spanish league is not the same as the Premier League. In England, there is an intensity that isn’t there in Spain.”

Arsenal will be without Van Persie and Walcott at the Camp Nou, but Wenger is hopeful that captain Cesc Fabregas will be fit.

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