Men in green don't fear Arsenal

?Of course, Arsenal are still favourites for this group,? said Yannis Kyrastas.

However, like everyone else here, the Panathinaikos coach seems to be trying to convince himself of that dubious assertion while sensing that, actually, there couldn?t be a more opportune moment to tackle them, what with their long casualty list and the deflation of Saturday?s missed opportunity against Bolton still lingering.

With a win tonight almost guaranteed to seal Panathinaikos?s place in the second phase, Kyrastas?s flattery of Arsenal as English goliaths seems designed to guard against over-confidence. He knows Greek players too well, he says. ?Their mentality is that they become optimistic very easily ? and pessimistic very easily too.?

So he will be counting on a few wise foreign international heads to ensure ?we don?t change our approach or attitude?. Heads like Paulo Sousa, their Portuguese midfield commander, and Goran Vlaovich, the Croatian striker who has scored in both Champions League wins so far, could be more influential than any of the quintet of Greek internationals expected to start tonight.

Next week, there will be seven Panathinaikos players on duty for England?s World Cup match against Greece at Old Trafford and if their most recent disinterested hammering by Finland is anything to go by, pessimism will flood through them as a nation yawns.

Yet, as it?s only club football here which inflames real passions, so performers like Giorgios Karagounis, Panathinaikos?s tricky playmaker, can look quite different propositions in the Champions League. So just how intimidating will it be for Arsenal? The old hands at Greece?s most famous club smile, reckoning that since they renovated the stadium, filling it with green seats and reducing the capacity to near 20,000, the ground has seemed a bit more antiseptic and, consequently, the fans a little less fevered.

However, perhaps Wenger is into wishful thinking when suggesting a footballing night out here these days can be no more intimidating than a visit to the North-East.

?It will be hostile and very loud night,? accepted Wenger. ?But English teams face that kind of atmosphere when they play Sunderland or Newcastle.?

Still, it will feel more claustrophobic than their last meeting three years ago when, with Arsenal already eliminated, Wenger brought a shadow team to Athens?s vast, impersonal Olympic Stadium and stole a 3-1 win. This will be much more of a test of character, not least for the emergency personnel drafted in to fill the holes at the back.

Alongside Martin Keown may well be Matthew Upson, who has not started a Premiership game for 22 months since snapping a cruciate knee ligament. If not the youngster, then it would have to be one of the journeymen, Oleg Luzhny or Igor Stepanovs. Not comforting. Wenger fancies he?ll need Upson?s pace to counter the lively strike force of Vlaovich and Michalis Konstantinou, Panathinaikos?s talented £7 million Cypriot who has already made a huge impact here but is rated only 50-50 to start after being injured in Sunday?s opening league match.

But Wenger prefers to think attack, insisting that even if a draw wouldn?t be a bad result, playing for one is not an option.

?We have to go for goals, because if we just defend, I?m scared their crowd will inspire Panathinaikos to score in the end.?

Step forward then, Thierry Henry, who needs just one to equal Ian Wright?s Arsenal record of 15 European goals. A 16th would be historic, if only for the magical demonstration of how to silence a cacophony in green.