Arsene Wenger believes his Arsenal side have all the necessary building blocks to become one of the true greats of European football - but accepts it is the ability to deliver silverware by which his young Gunners will ultimately be judged.

The Arsenal squad travelled to Milan this afternoon knowing a campaign which had already surpassed expectation and promised so much now hangs in the balance.

While the Gunners remain top of the Barclays Premier League, their five-point advantage has swiftly been eroded by Manchester United down to just one, following a last-gasp home draw with Aston Villa on Saturday.

Tomorrow night they face European champions AC Milan for a place in the quarter-finals at the San Siro, where Wenger's men will need to recapture the form shown when sweeping aside city rivals Inter 5-1 at the same venue back in November 2003.

That, of course, was a squad driven by Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and captain Patrick Vieira, one which would go onto record an unbeaten domestic championship campaign as Wenger's 'Invincibles'.

This new generation, though, have shown signs of their potential already - with Cesc Fabregas and leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor emerging from the shadow of their long-time talisman Henry to help take Arsenal to the top of the Premier League and still in the hunt for European honours.

However, with the tie delicately poised following a goalless first leg in north London a fortnight ago, it is now make-or-break for Wenger's youngsters.

But the Frenchman - whose last domestic trophy came in 2005 with the FA Cup - knows despite their impressive rapid progress, another barren campaign would overshadow all which had been achieved.

"This team will achieve great things and improve, no matter what happens tomorrow night," Wenger insisted.

"If you ask me, we are as strong as Milan. The form of the day will decide."

Asked what makes a great side, the Arsenal manager reflected: "By winning major trophies and consistently competing at the top level.

"I can play a great shot in tennis, or in golf - but to beat a great player I need to be consistent.

"Consistency is the first mark of a great team. We have that.

"Of course, Manchester United and Milan have been great sides - but we have had great sides as well, to be unbeaten in a whole season in the championship is a fantastic achievement.

"After that you have sides who make history, who win the European Cup three, four or five times on the trot.

"At the moment, this team is far from doing that, We have to go step by step."

Wenger continued: "They have experienced different steps. The first one is to raise up the level I expected them to achieve.

"The second thing is to be under expected performances. Before January, we were the surprise of the season, since January people take us as candidates for the Premier League so we have matured quite quickly under a lot of pressure.

"It was not a surprise to me, but from the environment of the game. I felt that no-one else believed in us."

Wenger rejected suggestions his team could not be successful just because of a perceived lack of experience.

He said: "I don't deny we are young, but if you look across Europe, how many teams have lost only domestic championship game? Not many, so, for a young side, we are quite consistent.

"Ideally of course we should have scored the goal against Milan in the first leg, but I feel we delivered the game we wanted to deliver and there is no limit for us.

"When I spoke to [Marcel] Desailly after the game, he said, in their dressing room, they were absolutely amazed by our quality.

"But they think we should have taken advantage of our superiority, That can happen. It can also happen to them as well. Last season, they beat Celtic 1-0 and had plenty of chances.

"Many teams have given AC Milan problems at the San Siro.

"We are conscious they will raise their level for the game, because that is the quality of this Milan team."

Wenger continued: "But if you look at what people said of us before the season, then we have already over achieved.

"Now no matter what we do, it will never be enough - but on the other hand, you want your team to go as far as they can.

"If you ask me, can we overcome this hurdle? Then I say yes. Let's go into the game with that mindset.

"I am confident and am very proud of what the team have done until now, but I am sure I will be prouder at the end of the season.

"I believe no matter what happens tomorrow, we still have a lot to go for."

Wenger returned to the San Siro on Monday, the venue of his team's famous victory over Inter back in November 2003.

The Arsenal boss feels his current squad can take "inspiration" from that result.

"It is a big inspiration because we came here then in a desperate situation and had to make a big score - and we made it," he said.

"I believe we are highly focused and the team spirit is very high. It all the focus to come here and make a result. We are confident and up for it."

The Gunners boss reiterated his desire for the team to play their own game on Tuesday night.

"We have not conceded a goal and know to qualify we have to defend well and attack well," he said.

"We have nothing to protect, but know we want to score goals. Here we know we have to do both, to defend and score goals like in any normal game which we want to win."

Midfielder Mathieu Flamini feels Arsenal must not let Milan slow the game down to their pace.

He said: "The tempo is going to be very important because we are playing against a big team in Milan.

"It will be very difficult, but we have to be strong, play our own game and score one more goal than them.

"We certainly have the quality to do that."

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