Arsene Wenger last night warned that red - hot Fernando Torres is the biggest danger to Arsenal's Champions League hopes.
Gunners boss Wenger tried to be upbeat as he insisted Arsenal can win the Double despite being paired with Liverpool in the last eight - and could end up facing Chelsea in the semis.
But Wenger did admit that in-form Torres - the destroyer of Inter Milan in the last round - is the man they have to stop as they face Liverpool three times in the space of eight days in Europe and in the Premier League.
Wenger said: "He is going through a good spell. He had an indifferent spell at the start, but now he has adapted very quickly.
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"He is quick, strong, brave and that's the kind of competition you want to keep quiet in the Champions League. You must be particularly careful when he is away from home. You do not want to give him any counterattacking chances. He and Steven Gerrard are both very quick on the break."
Wenger has said that he wanted to avoid an-all English quarter-final and that he would have to treat the Champions League games differently to the Premier League encounter sandwiched in the middle. But he firmly believes his players can rediscover their form in the Premier League - and that would help them overcome Liverpool.
Wenger said: “You would ideally prefer to avoid another English team but we knew that if we wanted to go all the way through to the final then we would have to play another English side at some stage.”Football is not predictable - that's why it's interesting - but at the moment we are in the position in the Championship where we have the advantage. So we want to focus immediately - we aren't sitting there waiting for the Liverpool game, we are focusing on Middlesbrough.
"It will help us when we play Liverpool if we are in a good shape in the Championship. We can play with less pressure. I believe between the two legs in the last round (against Milan) there was a hangover. We were desperate to go through and the 0-0 draw in the first match created an uncertainty and we dropped maybe two points in the league from that.
"That shows you how strong you have to be to deal with both competitions.
"This is a cup game, and in a League game you can concede a goal. In the Champions League you have seen against Liverpool, against Milan, how vital it is not to concede at home.
"What Liverpool have done before doesn't bother us at all, what is very important on the day is that you are at your best, we need to raise our game on the day, because it's a cup game."
Wenger also believes Arsenal have got an ace up their sleeve for the run-in in the shape of fit-again Dutch striker Robin van Persie. He is in the squad for the visit of Middlesbrough today, and Wenger added: "He has only played the first eight games, where he scored five goals. At the end of the season, that could make for an interesting total.
"He can give us the final push. He can give you the final ball, score free-kicks, he's dangerous on corners and he can score."
Liverpool boss Benitez sees the clash with Arsenal as a chance for Liverpool to prove their greatness. He said: "You know what, I don't even care about those people who say that we are not great champions, even though we have won the trophy and got to the final again.
"I believe strongly that over the past three years it has got harder and harder to reach the final, because you must play the Champions of each country to get there. This season, it is a fantastic achievement to even be in the quarter-finals, because some sides you can consider to be great have not made it. We beat Inter Milan who are a fine side, and that shows our strength.
"If we progress further then it will be an even greater achievement, and if we win the competition by beating English teams, then yes, it will show we are a force.
"But then I believe we can call ourselves a great side, whether we play English teams or others. I think we have shown we are a force by beating a side as strong as Inter to get here.
"It is very hard to get to the final of this competition. Some great sides have not done that for a long time."
Gunners boss Wenger tried to be upbeat as he insisted Arsenal can win the Double despite being paired with Liverpool in the last eight - and could end up facing Chelsea in the semis.
But Wenger did admit that in-form Torres - the destroyer of Inter Milan in the last round - is the man they have to stop as they face Liverpool three times in the space of eight days in Europe and in the Premier League.
Wenger said: "He is going through a good spell. He had an indifferent spell at the start, but now he has adapted very quickly.
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"He is quick, strong, brave and that's the kind of competition you want to keep quiet in the Champions League. You must be particularly careful when he is away from home. You do not want to give him any counterattacking chances. He and Steven Gerrard are both very quick on the break."
Wenger has said that he wanted to avoid an-all English quarter-final and that he would have to treat the Champions League games differently to the Premier League encounter sandwiched in the middle. But he firmly believes his players can rediscover their form in the Premier League - and that would help them overcome Liverpool.
Wenger said: “You would ideally prefer to avoid another English team but we knew that if we wanted to go all the way through to the final then we would have to play another English side at some stage.”Football is not predictable - that's why it's interesting - but at the moment we are in the position in the Championship where we have the advantage. So we want to focus immediately - we aren't sitting there waiting for the Liverpool game, we are focusing on Middlesbrough.
"It will help us when we play Liverpool if we are in a good shape in the Championship. We can play with less pressure. I believe between the two legs in the last round (against Milan) there was a hangover. We were desperate to go through and the 0-0 draw in the first match created an uncertainty and we dropped maybe two points in the league from that.
"That shows you how strong you have to be to deal with both competitions.
"This is a cup game, and in a League game you can concede a goal. In the Champions League you have seen against Liverpool, against Milan, how vital it is not to concede at home.
"What Liverpool have done before doesn't bother us at all, what is very important on the day is that you are at your best, we need to raise our game on the day, because it's a cup game."
Wenger also believes Arsenal have got an ace up their sleeve for the run-in in the shape of fit-again Dutch striker Robin van Persie. He is in the squad for the visit of Middlesbrough today, and Wenger added: "He has only played the first eight games, where he scored five goals. At the end of the season, that could make for an interesting total.
"He can give us the final push. He can give you the final ball, score free-kicks, he's dangerous on corners and he can score."
Liverpool boss Benitez sees the clash with Arsenal as a chance for Liverpool to prove their greatness. He said: "You know what, I don't even care about those people who say that we are not great champions, even though we have won the trophy and got to the final again.
"I believe strongly that over the past three years it has got harder and harder to reach the final, because you must play the Champions of each country to get there. This season, it is a fantastic achievement to even be in the quarter-finals, because some sides you can consider to be great have not made it. We beat Inter Milan who are a fine side, and that shows our strength.
"If we progress further then it will be an even greater achievement, and if we win the competition by beating English teams, then yes, it will show we are a force.
"But then I believe we can call ourselves a great side, whether we play English teams or others. I think we have shown we are a force by beating a side as strong as Inter to get here.
"It is very hard to get to the final of this competition. Some great sides have not done that for a long time."
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