LONDON (AP): Arsenal is looking to bounce back from a surprise Premier League loss and capture the point it needs to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
A draw with Standard Liege at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday will be enough to make sure unbeaten Arsenal takes one of the top two spots from Group H, although Wenger will want his team to do it in style after Saturday's 1-0 loss to Sunderland.
"Mentally it's a blow," Wenger said after his side slipped to third in the Premier League standings and eight points behind leader Chelsea. "We were not good enough. We choked a little bit."
The good news for Wenger is that his side is in no real danger of failing to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League. Even a loss to the Belgian club on Tuesday would leave the Gunners three points ahead of Standard with one more game to go.
Arsenal has 10 points from three wins and a draw and is four points ahead of Olympiakos, which visits last-place Dutch champion AZ Alkmaar on Tuesday. Standard has four points and, having lost 3-2 at home to the Gunners back in September, needs to win by two goals at the Emirates, beat Alkmaar at home and hope the Gunners lose to the Greek champion.
Tuesday's game gives Wenger the opportunity to let some of his backup players take the spotlight, especially since top scorer Robin van Persie is out of action for several weeks with damaged angle ligaments.
Wenger praised Carlos Vela for his performance as a substitute at Sunderland as the Mexican played the last 19 minutes and set up chances of an equalizer that never came.
"Vela is a fantastic talent and he is 20-years-old," Wenger said. "We have invested a lot of time for him because we put him in Spain for two years, got him back and now we work with him every day."
Wenger said that Vela's talent and potential convinced him he didn't need to buy a replacement for striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who left Arsenal for Manchester City during the August transfer window.
"I believe he is a Robbie Fowler-type," Wenger said in reference to the talented former Liverpool goalscorer. "He needs very little time to make a decision in the box. He is relaxed when he finishes and he has very short backlift. He is as well left-footed and he is a similar size."
Despite taking a third minute lead, Standard lost 2-1 to Gent on Saturday to slide 10 points behind leader Anderlecht in the Belgium league.
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