Arsenal's young side face the ultimate test against European champions Milan today but manager Arsene Wenger believes they can beat them and reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
"We are playing against a very experienced side and it is going to be very tight." he said.
"For me, it is most important that we play without any handbrake... we go into the game not calculating too much, to let our youthful quality show.
"We are a young team, but we can challenge them - and beat them," the Frenchman told a news conference yesterday ahead of the first knockout round, first leg tie at Emirates Stadium.
Wenger, who takes charge of his 100th Champions League match with Arsenal including qualifying games, said he and his players were hurt by their 4-0 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Saturday but put that down to "a bad day at the office".
He added: "We were a bit quiet in training yesterday, we were very disappointed about Saturday, but we are totally focused on Milan.
"Sometimes you forget how good you are when you have a big disappointment, and we still have two huge targets in front of us - the Premier League and the Champions League.
"Although that might not be all you want left in February, they are our targets now and it will come down to our quality."
"But we face the ultimate test on Wednesday (today) because we are in the position of challengers and Milan are the European champions... they have quality, experience.
"But we are a team, in my opinion, who can challenge and beat them but we know we have to be at our best to do that."
Despite their heavy defeat in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday, Wenger believes Arsenal will come back stronger from the setback, a point emphasised by midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
The 20-year-old Spaniard at the heart of much of Arsenal's outstanding play this season noted that they recovered from losing 5-1 at Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup semi-finals last month and did not lose again until the Old Trafford game.
"We came back after losing to Tottenham and we can do that again," he said.
"We want to be in the Champions League final again and we want to win the Premier League and we are focused on the two competitions and want to go as far as we can."
Wenger told reporters that defenders Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy plus midfielder Mathieu Flamini would all be fit for today as will forward Emmanuel Adebayor, who was nursing a hamstring injury on Saturday but is now fully recovered.
The teams have only met before in the 1994 Super Cup final, which Milan won 2-0 on aggregate, but Arsenal have a good recent record against Italian sides, winning their last five ties on aggregate.
Milan, who beat Liverpool in the 2007 final in Athens, also knocked out Manchester United last season and are seeking a sixth successive quarter-final appearance.
But their ambitions may be undermined by injuries to goalkeepers Dida and Zeljko Kalac meaning inexperienced third choice Valerio Fiori could play for the first time since the 2003-04 season.