Arsenal boss Wenger refuses to save Campbell for Barcelona

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has no doubts about selecting veteran Sol Campbell for their clash at Birmingham City.

Wenger will not let the Barcelona tie cloud his mind when he picks his team to face Birmingham – and that means Campbell will play.

“I will pick him for the next game because for me the next game is an important one,” declared Wenger on arsenal.com.

“I don’t consider Barcelona for the next game. At the back we need to be solid to win this game [at Birmingham]. We fight the whole season to be in there and this is a priority.

“I believe my players are very intelligent and if we were distracted it would mean we were not [intelligent]. The best way to prepare for Barcelona is to win the game before.

“We have fought like mad until now to be in the position we are in. It’s ten months preparation, fight and work to be where we are in the championship so we want to take advantage of that and win the Birmingham game.”