Arsenal rarely looked in danger against Standard Liege last night, although they were generous enough to present their guests with several clear cut scoring opportunities. However, Wenger’s team simply created far more in a game that was pretty open by the standards of this competition.

The reshuffled frontline looked more effective than against Sunderland, the chances fashioned so much better than at the weekend. Carlos Vela tried hard but was hampered by his reliance on only using his left foot to shoot. His selection instead of Eduardo may have indicated that the manager was far from happy with the latter’s display in the defeat three days earlier. This is the problem with sticking to one formation come hell or high water. If injuries occur, the players do not always fit. Both Eduardo and Vela are better playing off a strike partner in the Bendtner mould.

The goals both came as a result of decent play some distance outside the area – Vermaelen’s chip for Nasri (and what a quality finish) and Denilson’s dipping corker before half-time. Despite giving Standard chances, for some reason, I never felt there was any danger of a comeback. In a sense, the pressure was off. Arsenal were as good as qualified anyway, and the trip to Greece will now surely be used to give match time to as many of the fringe players as the club are able to.

Presumably it’s still a 25 man pool that the Gunners have to admit to UEFA, which would discount a good number of the Carling Cup kids. A mix and match Arsenal team played Panathinaikos away in a similar dead rubber (for them) early in Wenger’s tenure. However, that time they traveled having been knocked out already and their 3-1 win meant the Greek side were also eliminated. The same could happen to Olympiacos if Liege beat AZ Alkmaar. As there will be no pressure on the visiting team, they might surprise people and win, even with a makeshift line-up.

The performance last night was not one of total focus and concentration. Sunday will now present some selection problems for the manager. My guess is he’ll be forced to re-instate Eduardo up front, and play Arshavin and Nasri with him. I think the midfield will be the same as faced Liege. William Gallas appeared to suffer concussion and Wenger’s side finished the evening with ten men as Kieran Gibbs was taken off in the dying seconds.

The players have to step up a gear in a big way, especially with Didier Drogba apparently fit again. If Gallas doesn’t start, I think we can safely say it’s curtains. I can forgive the lapses last night because Arsenal did what they needed to and there is no need to do more than that when there is a busy fixture list looming. Mentally, players are not switched on 100% of the time.

Having said that, I didn’t see a Champions League winner in waiting. If Arsenal face the kind of tight, tense matches they did in their run to the final in 2006 – as they surely must at some point in the knockout stages – I can’t see them coming off best. They are simply not set up to play that way. Liege were a very average side. There is an argument they might not even be good enough for the Premier League. Arsenal, through their attacking style, offered them plenty of encouragement. The warning signs have been there all season, and the fear is the chickens may come home to roost on Sunday.