Campbell to return for injury-plagued Arsenal

Sol Campbell is set to cap his return to top flight football by turning out for injury-ravaged Arsenal in the Champions League against Porto this evening.

The depleted Gunners have travelled to Portugal shorn of some of their biggest names - so once again it will be Wenger's youngsters, plus Campbell, who will be put in the spotlight

Arsene Wenger admitted that his side would have to "dig deep" to get a result, particularly as the spine of the team is missing. Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is out with a finger injury and defender William Gallas has been ruled out with a calf problem. In midfield Alex Song's knee is keeping him from playing while up front Eduardo and Andrei Arshavin will be out with hamstring injuries.

"Porto have played 10 consecutive years in the Champions League and we will not get away with an easy game," said Wenger. "We cannot turn up in the last 16 with an average game. We need to be defensively solid but not cautious."

Campbell, who was playing in League Two at the start of the season, is likely to start at centre back alongside Thomas Vermaelen, with Lukasz Fabianski in goal. It will be Campbell's first appearance in the Champions League since the 2006 final when he scored for Arsenal, but could not prevent them losing to Barcelona.

The Arsenal boss praised his veteran centre-back, using the kind of language not often heard from a man who puts so much store in youth. "Sol has experience – that's one of the key reasons we re-signed him – and that could be invaluable for us," revealed Wenger.

Up front Nicklas Bendtner will lead the line and Abou Diaby and Denilson will support Cesc Fabregas in midfield.

Wenger knows that the Champions League is Arsenal's last chance of silverware this season and if they fail it will be five years without a trophy, and he harked back to Campbell's last European game when he said: "We need to revive that spirit from 2006."

If Arsenal fail Wenger knows he can expect more questions about Arsenal's faith in youth and their lack of strength in depth. ·