Walcott presses the case for Arsenal to squeeze Barcelona

(Reuters)

Theo Walcott believes that Arsenal have learnt the lessons of last year ahead of tomorrow's visit from Barcelona. The teams met in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2010 and the Spanish champions won 6-3 on aggregate, having drawn 2-2 at the Emirates before winning 4-1 in the Nou Camp. Walcott has said, though, that if Arsenal press Barcelona and try to win the ball back quicker then they have a better chance.

Barcelona were brisker in their pressing last year than Arsenal, and Walcott recognised that this was an aspect of their game where they must match their visitors if they are to triumph. He was confident in their ability to do so, however, after an assertive approach led to a 3-1 home win over Chelsea in December and a good performance in a 0-0 home draw with Manchester City last month.

"We're looking forward to it, it's going to be a great, great battle," said Walcott. "It's one of the games you want to play in and hopefully the result can be different from last year. I believe we can do much better than last season; we can't do worse to be honest. It's going to be an open game but these days when we lose the ball we try to get it back quicker. That's what we did against Chelsea and Manchester City and hopefully we can take that into the Barcelona game because it's a massive one this season, the biggest one I'm going to play in."

The England winger was one of Arsenal's most important players in last year's game. Walcott came on at the Emirates with Barcelona two goals ahead and scored within three minutes of his introduction. While pleased with his impact in that tie, he hopes to play from the start this time.

"As a substitute you want to make a reaction straight away and I think I surprised them with my pace," he explained. "There's only so long they could last for; they lasted about 70 minutes but they couldn't last 90 minutes. I think I surprised [Barcelona left-back] Maxwell, came up behind him and tucked it away. That inspired us to get the result we wanted and I want to be doing that from the starting line-up now." Arsenal's chances last year were inhibited by injuries: Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin and Robin van Persie were among the players unavailable for the game in Barcelona.

This year, Arsenal have fewer problems. Samir Nasri is likely to return from injury to make the bench, although manager Arsène Wenger has not yet decided. Nasri has not played since being substituted with a hamstring injury in Arsenal's FA Cup game with Huddersfield.

Van Persie is back from injury and has scored 11 goals in nine games in 2011 and Walcott is delighted with his return. "It's great to see him back fit," he said. "He's a great player and I link up well with him. He's banging in the goals now and making up for the time he missed. He's a dream to play with."

Valencia v Schalke

Raul will return to Spain for the first time since his move from Real Madrid when Schalke take on Valencia tonight. The former Spain striker helped Madrid win 15 trophies over 18 seasons before moving to the Bundesliga. Raul has scored 12 goals in 28 appearances for Schalke in his first season abroad.

"I think we have a very good chance of reaching the quarter-finals," said Raul, who has scored 13 goals in 25 games against Valencia, including a Champions League final triumph in 2000. "We've shown in the group stage what we are capable of."