Barca talk possession, Arsenal focus on grit

Holders Barcelona plan to focus on their customary possession game while Champions League opponents Arsenal will rely more on mental strength to see them through, their coaches said on Monday.

Barca produced some sparkling play in the first hour of last week's quarter-final first-leg in London to take a 2-0 lead before the Gunners fought their way back to 2-2 to give themselves a chance of eliminating the champions in Tuesday's second leg at the Nou Camp.

"Both teams are good at keeping the ball and the one that has the ball for longer will have more chances to win the match," Barca coach Pep Guardiola told a news conference.

"We are going to try to be ourselves, to keep the ball," he added. "We will try to dominate a team that wants to dominate."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told a separate news conference that his side had the momentum after their first-leg fightback and recalled the club's previous away victories against top-flight opposition like Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

"The only club we haven't done it to is here [in Barcelona] and this team can make history tomorrow by grabbing its opportunity," the Frenchman said.

"I know that they will fight for it," he added. "I always supported this team even in the weak points of the season because I believe they have some exceptional mental strength."

Denying Arsenal possession was an important part of Barca's plan to counter the pace of Theo Walcott, Guardiola said.

The England winger came off the bench and scored to help turn the first leg around and Wenger may be tempted to include the 21-year-old in his starting lineup, with Russian forward Andriy Arshavin out injured.

Arsenal are also without Spanish midfielder and captain Francesco 'Cesc' Fabregas and French defender William Gallas, both of whom picked up injuries in the first leg, and Wenger said defender Sol Campbell was doubtful with a hamstring problem.

Midfielder Alex Song is also out with a groin problem, Arsenal said earlier on Monday.

Barca are missing injured striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and suspended central defenders Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, who is also the captain.

Midfielder Andres Iniesta, who has been out for around 10 days with a thigh strain, was given the all-clear on Monday and Guardiola included the Spanish international in his 19-man squad.

Wenger predicted that his players would have to work harder to win back the ball than they did in the first leg. "You know that when you don't have the ball you need everybody on board, especially against Barcelona," he said. "We have to make the pitch smaller. The heart of the battle will be in midfield.

"I think the first game was an exciting game and the second game promises to be even more."