Arsenal are in great form at the moment. Do you expect them to be in confident mood going into tonight's game?

They are very confident. They are unbeaten in the Premier League since before Christmas and they have been playing very well in the past month or so. They look really solid at the back again and since a few players returned from injury they have started scoring goals again. They look a very good side and the mood in the camp is very positive.

Arsene Wenger has a number of injury concerns with Robin van Persie out and Theo Walcott a major doubt. How much of a setback is that?

Walcott is nursing his way back from a knee problem. He will have a fitness test today and he will start if it is at all possible, mainly because Arsenal need his pace.

If Walcott is not fit, Emmanuel Eboue will come in, but he just doesn't offer the same kind of threat. Looking at some of the teams that Wenger has been forced to put out over the past couple of months it is still a relatively strong squad.

Fortunately for Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas is back and I think he will be a key player tonight.

What should we expect from Villarreal? What kind of side are they?

It's going to be a good game to watch because, like Arsenal, they are a good footballing team. They met in the semi-finals three years ago and it was a tight affair. Arsenal won 1-0 on aggregate and since then both teams have changed dramatically, so much so that I expect there will only be about five or six survivors from that match on the pitch tonight.

Manuel Pellegrini, the Villarreal manager, has done a similar job to Wenger and rebuilt the team and managed to do it successfully. They finished second in La Liga last year, which is a great achievement for a relatively small club, and they have continued to do well this year.

How important is the midfield battle between Fabregas and Marcos Senna?

It could well decide the outcome of the tie. If Fabregas can escape the clutches of Senna then Arsenal could do well. They are Spain team-mates and they know each others' games very well, but Fabregas has been out for three-and-a-half months and will be raring to go and determined to finish the season strongly.

How much of a danger is Robert Pires. Will he have a point to prove tonight?

He's a different class of player. He's 35 years old and although his pace has gone he is still very technically gifted. He won't beat as many players but he can play those killer balls coming in from the left. If he starts, he will be desperate to do well and could give Bacary Sagna a very difficult night.

His last game for Arsenal was the Champions League final in 2006 when he was brought off after 18 minutes because Jens Lehmann had been sent off. He was bitterly disappointed about the way his time at Arsenal ended so, yes, he will want to prove a point. In a sense he has already done that by continuing to play until he is 35, long after Wenger had written him off.

What kind of approach do you expect Arsenal to adopt? Will they go for the away goal?

They will certainly try to. They have been quite successful away from home in Europe over the past couple of seasons and tend to play on the counter-attack, using the pace of Adebayor and Walcott and the probing passing of Fabregas to sting teams on the break. I expect them to play with that kind of mentality tonight and really push to score the away goal that could swing the tie in their favour.

Wenger has played down Arsenal's chances of winning the competition but are they a good outside bet?

They are certainly in the better half of the draw, having avoided Liverpool, Chelsea and Barcelona. If they come through this, it looks likely they will face Manchester United and Arsenal won't fear them. They have already beaten them at the Emirates in November and at Old Trafford in recent seasons.

Having opened up a gap over Aston Villa in their bid to finish fourth in the league, Arsenal can now target the cup competitions. If they can come through a difficult tie against Villarreal, they will fancy their chances of going all the way.

Do you have inkling as to which way it will it go tonight?

Arsenal should do enough to go through over the two legs. Playing away from home first will suit them and I think they might sneak a 1-0 win tonight.