Wenger wary of Shakhtar strength

Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal should not expect to simply hand Shakhtar Donetsk another European masterclass at their Donbass Arena fortress as the Gunners look to cement a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Despite running out comfortable 5-1 winners at Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago to take charge of Group H, Wenger is all too aware Wednesday's return encounter in Ukraine will be a whole new ball game for the Gunners - who are without Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Denilson and Andrey Arshavin.

"I will remind the players Shakhtar is a strong side that we perhaps caught on a good day for us at Emirates," said Wenger.

"They will have been hurt by what happened, and at home, they will be a completely different team.

"If you let them get into a flow, they can cause you many problems. We will make sure we are well aware of that."

Since losing in north London, Shakhtar have won their three domestic matches without conceding a goal. The Miners have kept clean sheets from nine of their 10 home games this season, and lost just two of the last 30 matches in all competitions.

Wenger added: "Certainly we will face a team who will be up for it.

"Shakhtar are one of the strong sides in Europe, and they dominate this league.

"They are an unbeatable team here, at least locally - but we have a chance to beat them, so let's try to get the best out of our performance.

"We can win anywhere in the world, we have done it - we can win everywhere."