Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger Wants Lukasz Fabianski To 'Grab The Chance' To 'Show How Good He Is' Against Partizan Belgrade

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Frenchman has faith in goalkeeper.


Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident reserve goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski can step into the shoes of the injured Manuel Almunia as the Gunners prepare for the trip to Serbia to face Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League.

The opportunity for Fabianski comes after Almunia injured his elbow in Saturday’s defeat to West Bromwich Albion, and the Pole will be looking to put past mistakes behind him and take his chance.

"For Fabianski, it is another big chance - but you want a goalkeeper or any player to grab the chance when you get it," Wenger told reporters.


"As a manager you can give a chance to a player who is good enough and I believe in his talent. He gets another opportunity to show how good he is. I want him to show how good he is.
"There is only one way to show confidence in a player and that is to put him on the pitch and give him his chance."

The trip to Belgrade will be a tough one for the Gunners who haven’t won away in the competition since last September, and Partizan will be hoping to keep that run going with a home victory.

The Serbians, though, have something of a chequered history of crowd trouble and were thrown out of the 2007-08 Uefa Cup for clashes in a qualifying tie against Zrinjski Mostar - while in September last year, a Toulouse fan died in hospital after being injured following violence in a bar ahead of the two sides' Europa League tie.

The Serbian champions have issued a plea for calm to their fans on their website, declaring that: "This is our chance to wipe out ugly traces of the recent past and we shouldn't miss this opportunity."

However, despite Arsenal’s poor away form and the undoubted hostile atmosphere, Wenger is confident the game can pass without incident.

"We are always inside the stadium, so I do not know what is happening outside, I leave that to Uefa and to the Serbian authorities. I am sure they will do that very well," he continued.

"Serbia is a traditional football country, which has produced many fantastic players.

"They know sport, they know football and I believe it will be very passionate because they are very passionate football people."

And the Gunners boss knows that his side will face a tough task if they are to earn all three points at Stadion FK Partizan.

"What I expect is for Partizan to play a highly passionate game and to try to catch us on the break," he added.

"They have the traditional strengths of Serbian teams - they are intelligent, with a good technique and in the final third, if you give them room they are always dangerous.

"I believe the collective drive that they have going forward could be dangerous for us."

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