Moscow, Sept 30: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his club coped with recent pressures in the best way - by beating Newcastle. Following the furore surrounding his club's match with Manchester United, in which six of his players were charged with improper conduct, he is determined to answer the critics on the pitch.
"When you want to play with a big club you have to be very mentally strong and cope with everything, " explained Wenger on the eve of the Champions League clash with Lokomotiv Moscow. "And that is what I think my player[s] can do. Because the best answer is--we won against Newcastle Friday night even with ten men." Arsenal will be without skipper Patrick Vieira, fellow midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg and England defender Sol Campbell for the match.
Vieira and Ljungberg picked up thigh and ankle injuries respectively in Friday's 3-2 premier league win over Newcastle United, while Campbell is only now returning to full training after the death of his father two weeks ago.

With Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp grounded by his fear of flying, manager Arsene Wenger has had to plunder his reserve team to make up a squad for Tuesday's Group B game in the Russian capital.


The only good news for Wenger is that defenders Ashley Cole and Martin Keown, who also picked up knocks in Friday's victory at Highbury, have both been passed fit and will play.


Four youngsters have been drafted in to the travelling party -- defenders Justin Hoyte, 18, and Stathis Tavlaridis, plus forwards David Bentley, 19, and Jeremie Aliadiere, 20.


"Basically, anyone who regularly practises with the first team is going," Wenger told the club's website. As for Campbell, who has missed Arsenal's last two games, the Frenchman said: "Sol is not travelling, but he is back in full training again. He is a little short physically and of course he is a bit down."


The absences have come at a particularly bad time for Arsenal, who were hammered 3-0 at home by Inter Milan in their opening group game two weeks ago and are looking to kick-start their European campaign.


Edu could well link up with fellow Brazilian Gilberto as Vieira's replacement in central midfield, with Ljungberg's place going to Ray Parlour and Ivory Coast's Kolo Toure standing in for Campbell at the back.


Lokomotiv Moscow, coming off an unconvincing 2-0 home win over Russian premier league strugglers Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz last Thursday, will be without suspended South African midfielder Jacob Lekgetho and Costa Rican striker Winston Parks, who is out for the rest of the year following a knee surgery.


Russian striker Maxim Buznikin has also been ruled out of the match in Moscow after picking up a leg injury in training.


Probable teams Lokomotiv Moscow: 1-Sergei Ovchinnikov; 2-Gennady Nizhegorodov, 5-Sergei Ignashevich, 14-Oleg Pashinin, 16-Vadim Yevseyev, 17-Dmitry Sennikov; 7-Marat Izmailov, 8-Vladimir Maminov, 10-Dmitry Loskov, 28-Dmitry Khokhlov; 32-Mikheil Ashvetia. Arsenal: 1-Jens Lehmann; 12-Lauren, 28-Kolo Toure, 5-Martin Keown, 3-Ashley Cole; 15-Ray Parlour, 19-Gilberto, 17-Edu, 7-Robert Pires; 11-Sylvain Wiltord, 14-Thierry Henry Referee: Jan W. Wegereef (Netherlands)


Group B standings: P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 Dynamo Kiev 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 Lokomotiv Moscow 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 Arsenal 1 0 0 1 0 3 0


Bureau Report