Arsenal: Attack Is the Best Form of Defence for Injury hit Squad

Deprived of the services of injured players William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Andrey Arshavin, Arsenal will travel to Barcelona with more hope than expectation.

The fact that hope still lingers for the Gunners owes much to the Spanish sides' first leg profligacy. Had Barcelona taken its chances in that match, the tie would have been effectively ended as a contest long before Fabregas scored the unlikeliest of goals.

Arsenal had hope when all seemed seemed lost, and the second-half reprieve received at the Emirates should dictate their approach to this match.

Barcelona are the better team, and the Arsenal cannot cope with their offense when it's firing on all cylinders. However, it will be bereft of one of those cylinders as Ibrahimovic, who scored both of Barcelona's second half goals, injured himself in the warm up before Saturday's convincing victory over Athletic Bilbao.

Ibrahimovic, who is likely to be replaced by former Arsenal favorite Thierry Henry, will not be the only omission from the Barcelona side. Influential playmaker Andres Iniesta, who is consistently picked ahead of Cesc Fabregas for the Spanish national team, is again likely to be absent due to injury. Both Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol will definitely be missing due to suspension, while potential makeshift center half Yaya Toure is doubtful to play.

Alex Song, another potential center half, is the latest addition to Arsenal's rapidly expanding injury list. Wenger is left with a choice between Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell to partner Thomas Vermaelen at center half.

Realistically, he will relish neither man's chances against the most fluent attacking unit in football, but Campbell is likely to get the nod.

A backs to the wall performance from Arsenal simply will not suffice. The days of 1-0 to the Arsenal victories are long gone and if Barcelona enjoy extended periods of possession they will score goals.

Arsenal's only chance, a slim chance at that, is to attack from the offset. Wenger feels that his attacking options are more than a match for Barcelona, although it is not a view which will be commonly held. He will need his team to put constant pressure on a Barcelona back four deprived of its first choice center back pairing.

If Arsenal are to be successful, a number of players who have yet to shine will need to step up. Nicholas Bendtner's recent form has been good, but at the Nou Camp he will need to be excellent. Abou Diaby was unable to assert his influence at the Emirates and will be faced with the unenviable task of filling Fabregas's boots in Spain.

Theo Walcott caused carnage when he came on for the last half an hour of their first meeting, and Wenger will be looking for the wing wizard to have a similar impact at some stage of the game.

Tomas Rosicky is improving, but has yet to recapture the form he showed prior to sustaining the injury which kept him out for over a year.  He will need to speed up his rehabilitation dramatically if he is to help Arsenal progress to another Champions League semifinal.

Deprived of central midfielders Song, Ramsey, and Fabregas, Wenger will probably be forced to play the ever-improving Emmanuel Eboue in the middle. Eboue, Denilson, and Diaby will all need to have the game of their lives if Arsenal is to defy the odds and eliminate Barcelona.

Anything is possible on the night, that's the beauty of a tie involving two outstanding sides, but the reigning Champions League winners cannot expect to be deposed in their own backyard by a severely depleted Arsenal team.

If last week's game taught us one thing it is this: both teams look dangerous going forward, and are vulnerable on defense.

Both Barcelona and Arsenal should look to attack in swashbuckling style straight from the whistle.

The free flowing football of the first match was a joy to behold, and part two has the potential to be even better.