The Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger is upset that his captain Cesc Fabregas will not be available for Arsenal’s return leg in the Champions League against Barcelona, but he is sure that Samir Nasri can step up to the plate and run the game in his place.

“Nasri will of course be important because he will lead our game,” said Wenger.

“I would love Cesc to be there 100 per cent. But we have no choice, we have to compensate a little bit.

“I have to find a good balance in the side to make life difficult for Barcelona. But of course Nasri is one of the players who can create.”

“The problem we have at the moment is that we are short,” he said. “We rested Abou Diaby, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner against Wolves.

“We have Cesc Fabregas, William Gallas, Robin Van Persie and Andrey Arshavin out. Can you believe that? That’s eight players. Any injury now can hit us very hard.”

The French manager is also considering whether to play Sol Campbell after taking him off in the 70th minute against Wolves. He will leave a decision until he sees whether the 35 year-old has made a quick recovery.

“That’s a decision I will have to make,” Wenger said. “I will have to see with him how he feels. The pitch is massive over there and we will see how he recovers.

“Song had a groin problem but he should be OK for Tuesday.”

The Frenchman is also unsure of whether to start with Walcott in the Camp Nou, or to use him as an impact sub again. “You have big players on the bench,” said Wenger. “When they come on you don’t forget they have qualities to make an impact.

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“It is always difficult to measure – is the impact is down to the quality of the player and the history of the game or is it just down to the quality of the player? It is very difficult to say.

“I must say I am very, very happy that Theo had such an impact on the game. But he played three days before at Birmingham and had not the same impact on the game and he started. Every game is different.

“Theo has a chance to start the game on Tuesday but he can as well come on again and make a difference. If it is 0-0 with 20 minutes to go, we will need players who can make a difference.”

Is it better for Walcott to come on later in the game, when the other players are tired? Or should he be on from the start?

Alex Song's groin injury has given Arsene Wenger fresh defensive worries for tomorrow’s Champions League second leg in Barcelona.

The Arsenal boss is also concerned about the ability of Sol Campbell, Song’s obvious replacement, to play twice in four days.

But Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scorer of both Barca goals in the first-leg, is out with a calf injury.