Arsenal rookie Vito Mannone Action Images

ARSENE WENGER has admitted his rookie goalkeeper faces a big challenge when he makes his Champions League debut against Standard Liege tonight.

The 21-year-old made his only appearance for the Gunners in their final Premier League game of last season against Stoke City.

But with Manuel Almunia not travelling to Belgium after picking up a chest infection, and stand in goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski still recovering from a knee injury, Wenger has little option other than to blood the young Italian against Liege this evening.

“It is a big challenge for a young boy to come into a Champions League game with such a big pressure, especially away from home," said the Arsenal manager.

"When you look at the stadium, it will be quite a difficult atmosphere."

Wenger will be able to call on Eduardo for his side’s first Champions League game of the new season, after UEFA overturned a two-match suspension handed to the Croatia striker, who was initially accused of diving against Celtic last month.

The Arsenal manager said: "I am very happy we have Eduardo back because we have plenty of offensive players who are out. We have [Andrey] Arshavin, [Theo] Walcott, [Samir] Nasri and of course Van Persie.

"Eduardo on top of that would have been too many strikers to have out. That is why I am very happy to have him back. It was a good surprise I must say."

However, the Arsenal manager accepts the debate over cheating will continue to rage.

"We have to accept this case has been instructed by the media," said Wenger, who had lambasted the whole episode as a "witch-hunt" against the forward, just back to match fitness from a year out with a broken leg.

"We had appealed because we thought we were in the right. If UEFA had decided that Eduardo was suspended for four games, we would have accepted it. That was the gamble we took."

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