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Wenger backs Arsenal to beat Barca
 Wenger looks relaxed as he talks up Arsenal's chances of a Paris triumph PARIS, France -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal can rise to the occasion and beat Barcelona in Wednesday's Champions League final in Paris. "That kind of game raises a lot of expectations and you want to rise to these expectations," said the Frenchman at the Stade de France on the eve of the clash. "We know how we want to play and we know what we want to do. The team has peaked at the right moment and that is what we want to show tomorrow." Wenger stressed his team's chances didn't just rest on how star striker Thierry Henry performed on the night. "Like every big player he (Henry) is under pressure to achieve tomorrow," said Wenger. "Let the team play well and then Thierry Henry will play well." Wenger added that he didn't believe that the match would be decided by who performed better on the night, Henry or Barca star Ronaldinho, the FIFA Player of the Year. "It is Arsenal versus Barcelona, not Thierry Henry, " he said. The Arsenal manager also refused to be drawn on whether he would take any specific measures to combat the mercurial Brazilian saying that "to stop him, we need to stop all of them, it's a collective game." Henry's future has been the subject of big speculation - there is strong belief he could wind up at Barca next season - but at the moment he has only one goal. "It's all about winning," the Gunners' French star said. "Definitely you have the players to put on a show in Paris but it's about winning at the end of the day." The Gunners have won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups under Wenger, but have flopped in Europe's most prestigious club tournament.  Wenger keeps as eye on Henry in the build-up to Wednesday's final "All the time I have been looking at the Champions League final I have been thinking I wish I was there," Henry said. "I've never even been there to watch it. It's nice that it's in Paris (his home city) but the most important thing is to be there." Henry doesn't expect a six-goal thriller like last season's final in which Liverpool came from 3-0 down against Milan to beat the Italians in a penalty shootout. "When you look at the semifinals, people were saying Milan against Barcelona was going to be a game with a lot of goals and then you didn't many. It was 1-0," Henry said. "People also thought Villarreal against Arsenal would be a game with a lot of goals and there were not a lot of goals (1-0)." Arsenal has beaten powerhouses Real Madrid and Italian champion Juventus on the way to the final. Formidable line-upNow the Gunners face a Barcelona team which - besides Ronaldinho - has Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, Portuguese midfielder Deco, Mexican defender Rafael Marquez, Swedish forward Henrik Larsson and French attacking midfielder Ludovic Giuly. There are also Spanish stars Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez while Argentine teenager Lionel Messi could return after a knee injury. "If you try to look for a weakness it's difficult to find one," Henry said. "We have to work on what we can do on Wednesday and gave a go at them. They have a strong, defense, a strong midfield and a strong attack and they have a strong bench." While Henry returns to the city where he was born, Ronaldinho is back where he played two seasons for Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Barcelona. "It was in Paris where I began my European football career and to be able to play a Champions League final there, and perhaps win, motivates me even more," the Brazilian star said.  Ronaldinho shares a fun moment with Messi in final training The game pits Barcelona's natural offense-minded style under coach Frank Rijkaard against Arsenal's fast counterattacks. "Instead of just pressing forward we have learnt to adapt to each game and remain concentrated throughout," said Deco, who will be a key player in Barcelona's midfield. "We still go out to win the games like before but now also we put a lot of importance on defending strongly and not getting caught out by sloppy mistakes." Deco will face Arsenal's teenage Spanish star Cesc Fabregas, who grew up on the outskirts of Barcelona as a Barca fan and trainee only to move to Arsenal as a 16-year-old. "It's very difficult to leave a great team but I knew I was going to join a great team as well," said 19-year-old Fabregas, whose starring performances for the Gunners have earned him a place on Spain's World Cup squad. Wenger, asked about his team's poor domestic form, which saw the club finish the season in fourth place compared with its unbeaten run in Europe, said he wasn't surprised. "We have worked very hard, we have improved a lot. We want of course now to go out there and finish the job," he said. "I always believed there was something special in this team." 
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