Udinese v Arsenal – Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds – Champions League – 24 August 2011

Arsenal have a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of UEFA Champions League qualifying against Italian side Udinese. The match will take place at the Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy on Wednesday, August 24, 2011. Kickoff is scheduled for 19:45 BST (UK time), 20:45 CET (Central Europe), and 14:45 EST (USA Eastern)

Udinese v Arsenal TV Listings

It will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (USA), ESPN (Australia), Setanta Sports (Canada), ITV1 (UK), RTE Two (Ireland), Sport TV2 (Portugal), C+ (France), Sky Sport (Italy & Germany), Viasat Sport (Norway & Sweden), NTV+ Football (Russia), SuperSport (Africa), and Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East).

Udinese v Arsenal Preview

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

“What is at stake at the moment is for us to qualify tomorrow and we can only do it with the players we have at the moment.”

“They are good enough to achieve that and therefore after that we will see what we can do. We are working very hard on the transfer market.

“We brought in [Alex Oxlade-] Chamberlain – you will see that he will be a great player. Gervinho will be a great player for this club too but we want ideally more. We are short in midfield at the moment and that is where we want to strengthen.”

“There is always a concern [that players can be affected] but it is not an excuse,” said the manager.

“You are always concerned about the consequences it can have on the team. It can have a positive consequence as well – if you are strong mentally it can increase the solidarity, knowing you have to fight more.

“That is ideally what you want from mentally strong players.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

“Udinese showed they are quick on the flanks so we have to keep them quiet, especially Isla on the right side – he is a provider.”

“In midfield of course they have some good players and they have Di Natale up front. So overall we need a good solid defensive performance but we have experience in the Champions League and it is a good chance for us to use it tomorrow.

“We want of course to qualify so at the moment we are focused on doing well. We have won the first game without conceding a goal, that is quite a good result, and we will go there to score as we always do.”

“Not more, not less; it is exactly the same pressure.”

“I want to win every single game I play for Arsenal Football Club. The rest of the pressure is created by your environment but I have enough experience to take a distance with that. I know what I do to be at my best and that is what I try to do.”

“The summer was difficult because we had Fabregas and Nasri on permanent transfer negotiations and that is draining in the end.”

“We lost two great players and that’s the sad side of the story but at some stage it has to be over because we want to focus on the future.

“Overall what you do not want is to have players who play and think they go the next morning, that is not ideal. You want players who are completely committed to the long term, to defend our chances.”

“It is not naive [to think it could have happened sooner] but what you forget is that it does not depend only on us.”

“We wanted to sort all these cases out very early after the summer but it wasn’t possible and the pace is not only dictated by us unfortunately.”

Udinese manager Francesco Guidolin

“The second leg will be more difficult.”

“We face one of the best teams in Europe and 1-0 is a result to be worried about. It does not allow you any room for error.

“We must try to score, but without losing our balance and also remembering that Arsenal can hurt us with their speed.

“We must do everything well and have a little luck, but we can still qualify – we have not lost 5-0 in London.

“In the first leg maybe we began a little in awe of Arsenal, but my players deserve praise for not raising the white flag after the goal.”

“We’re going to play a different kind of game here at the Friuli Stadium. It’s going to be harder since we’ll have to try and score and, at the same time, to maintain our balance, knowing we can’t allow an opponent to run freely, they can be harmful when they run. We’ll have to be perfect, and we’ll need a bit of luck as well.”

“Arsenal have a strong philosophy, they always play the same both in home and away matches. We need to recover and they know they have an advantage. It is going to be a different match from the tactical point of view because it actually is another match. We need to make as little mistakes as we can and try not to exaggerate.”

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