Lifting players’ spirit ahead of clash with Barcelona difficult: Arsene Wenger

Coach Arsene Wenger has admitted that it will be difficult to lift the spirit of his players when they take on Barcelona on Wednesday.

Arsenal's title challenge hit the buffers at Birmingham on Saturday when Kevin Phillips' injury-time goal pegged them back to a 1-1 draw.

According to The Sun, the Gunners also have injury worries over Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin and Abou Diaby for the Champions League quarterfinal.

Wenger conceded: "It's always hard to pick the players up when you get caught like that. It is very difficult when we know we have no room for error at all. It feels like a defeat.

"But Barcelona is a different competition and we have a few days to recover and prepare," he added.