Wenger - Gunners now believe | Football News | Sky Sports

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal now have the belief to go to Camp Nou and finish the job against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

The Gunners staged a remarkable second-half fightback against the tournament favourites in the first leg of their last-16 clash, hitting back from a goal down at the interval after David Villa's opener to secure an historic 2-1 success in an enthralling encounter.

Robin van Persie levelled from an acute angle in the 78th minute before substitute Andrey Arshavin put the finishing touch to a breathtaking move to send Emirates Stadium into raptures.

And Wenger feels that his team's first-ever victory over the Catalan giants will help them retain their advantage when they meet again at Camp Nou on 8th March, live onSky Sports HD2andSky Sports 2.

The Frenchman, who saw his side dumped out by Barca in the quarter-finals of last year's tournament, reserved praise for his two goalscorers and believed his side's second-half comeback was due to their new-found mental and physical toughness.

Big boost

Wenger toldSky Sports News:"It is one of the most exciting nights because it was against a special team. The game promised a lot and I think it fulfilled all the promises, it was an exceptional match between two special teams.

"I am proud with the mental strength we have shown because against Barcelona you are sometimes on the border of being exposed. We never gave up and that mental strength allowed us to win the tie.

"In the second half we were tighter in our marking, pushed much more in and played higher up. They dropped a little bit physically and we didn't and that was in the end the difference.

"We scored two special goals, one an individual piece of skill from Robin van Persie and the other a collective build-up.

"I don't know how big the chance is (of progressing to the quarter-finals). I am convinced of one thing, the team will give absolutely everything to achieve it.

"We will go there with belief. It is a big boost for the team to know we can beat a side like Barcelona. You could see we are different team mentally, we are now more mature."

Source