Wenger on red alert as Napoli aim to prove point

Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal stars that Napoli will be motivated to prove a point in the Champions League on Tuesday. Wenger's side are brim full of confidence after opening up a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Swansea on Saturday. That success in south Wales was the Gunners' fifth successive league victory and maintained their remarkable revival since an opening day defeat against Aston Villa that looked set to trigger another season of underachievement. But Wenger is well aware, Serie A high flyers Napoli will be determined to end the Arsenal renaissance at the Emirates Stadium, especially since boss Rafael Benitez and star striker Gonzalo Higuain both want to prove their worth to English audiences. Benitez failed to earn a long-term contract at Chelsea at the end of his interim spell in charge last season despite leading the club to Europa League glory and also securing a top four finish in the Premier League. Instead Benitez headed off to Italy, where he has already galvanised Napoli to win five of their first six Serie A matches, while also starting their Champions League challenge by beating last year's runners-up Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at home. Wenger is not surprised to see his old rival Benitez having an instant impact. "Rafael Benitez is a great manager and has done well everywhere," Wenger said. "He has a vast experience now, he has worked in Italy twice, worked in England, worked in Spain. "All that together makes a manager more confident and more convinced of his opinions and you are not surprised how successful he has been throughout his career." Meanwhile, Argentine striker Higuain, who appeared all set for a switch to Arsenal before Real Madrid accepted a £34 million bid from Napoli instead, would also love to prove he made the right decision to snub the Gunners. Wenger, though, insists there is no need to reflect on what might have been after eventually landing Mesut Ozil from the Spanish side in a club-record £42.5 million deadline day transfer. "We were working on two or three targets and Higuain was one of them. It did not come off in the end, but that does not take anything away from his quality. Napoli took advantage of that at the right moment," Wenger said. "As we know, in the end Real Madrid sold two great players, one of them went to Napoli, one went to Arsenal." Napoli's fine form this season and Arsenal's sudden revival makes their clash in north London one of the more intriguing encounters in Europe this week and Wenger is full of admiration for the Italian outfit. Source: AFP