Arsenal manager hails his San Siro heroes

Matt Hughes in Milan and Matt Dickinson

Arsène Wenger boldly predicted last night that Arsenal can win the Champions League this season after a 2-0 win over AC Milan took them into the quarter-finals at the expense of the holders. Late goals from the outstanding Cesc Fàbregas and Emmanuel Adebayor ensured that the visiting team became the first English side to beat Milan at the San Siro.

Even more impressive was Arsenal’s composed celebration at the end of the game, suggesting that they have unfinished business with this competition after reaching the final two years ago. “I said that we can win this competition yesterday, but I felt that before,” Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said. “It’s a cup competition and you have to take it like that. Today, on the day, we were maybe better than Milan.

We’re in the quarter-finals, so why should we not believe we can do it?”

Manchester United joined their Barclays Premier League rivals in the last eight after beating Lyons 1-0 at Old Trafford to progress 2-1 on aggregate. If Chelsea and Liverpool follow suit, half of the quarter-finalists could be English sides, and there would be no bar to them meeting each other.

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After their triumph in Milan, and as they are leading the Premier League, Arsenal will be full of confidence and Fàbregas went so far as to claim that they could complete a domestic and European double. He had every right to be bullish after a magnificent individual performance that left Milan’s celebrated midfield trio of Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini dumbfounded.

The 20-year-old had created countless chances for his team-mates before taking matters into his own hands in the 84th minute to score with a 30-yard shot and then setting up an injury-time tap-in for Adebayor, the Togo striker’s first Champions League goal for Arsenal.

“We haven’t got a squad like Chelsea with 25 internationals so were never going to challenge for all four competitions,” Fàbregas said. “But we’re in contention for the two that matter and I don’t see any reason why we can’t win them both. To win in Milan 2-0, it is amazing. William [Gallas, the Arsenal captain] said before the game that we should enjoy the atmosphere. That is what we did, but this is just the beginning.”

Wenger praised his players for a performance that surpassed the notable 1-0 win against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu two years ago. Mathieu Flamini, Alexander Hleb and Gaël Clichy were also outstanding as Milan’s ageing players were made to look their age. “It was a perfect performance and the one we wanted,” Wenger said. “We played with authority, maturity and talent. I’m very proud of our performance tonight and we deserved to win the game.

“We’ve dropped off in terms of confidence in the championship recently and we’ve not been in the most positive environment. We found the mental strength to play without any restrictions tonight and that makes me proud.”

By comparison, United’s passage to the quarter-finals was routine, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s 30th goal of the season earning them victory. Sir Alex Ferguson believes that an all-English quarter-final may be on the cards and it is not, he said, a prospect that would daunt United.

“I expect Chelsea to get through and if Liverpool do too it’s something like a 40 per cent chance of getting an English team,” the United manager said. “I don’t think it matters who you play. They are all difficult games. That’s why the quarter-finals throw up good teams. The important thing is to be there ourselves.”