Young Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner remains confident he can develop into more than just an impact player for Arsenal.The 20-year-old made only his second start in the Premier League at Wigan last weekend, where the Gunners drew a blank following their superb Champions League victory over AC Milan in the San Siro.

Bendtner has, though, come off the bench some 18 times this season, netting six goals overall - including a dramatic last-gasp equaliser against Aston Villa in the last home game.

After spending a season on loan at Birmingham, manager Arsene Wenger was keen to give the 6ft 3in frontman his chance at the Emirates Stadium.

Bendtner - who was involved in a bust-up with team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor during the Carling Cup semi-final defeat at Tottenham earlier this season - hopes to get another opportunity to impress with the visit of Middlesbrough.

"I need to obviously get more games," Bendtner told Arsenal TV.

"The more you play with the team as a regular starter, then the more you get to learn and know the team.

"If I can get a good run in the side, then I am sure you will see that I can do it."

Boro are battling at the other end of the table, but remain the only side to have beaten the Gunners in the Premier League this season, when they recorded a 2-1 win at the Riverside back in December.

With Arsenal having drawn their last three league games, the lead at the top of the table has been cut down to just two points over Manchester United - who now hold a game in hand.

Bendtner knows there is little margin for error as the race for the title enters a crucial phase.

He said: "We have had a lot of games which ended up with draws when we should have won.

"We all know we have to beat Middlesbrough to get towards winning the trophy, so we will give everything we can."

Theo Walcott faces a fitness test on his thigh injury ahead of the game while Emmanuel Eboue is available again after he served a three-match ban for his red card in the FA Cup defeat to United.

Wenger revealed striker Eduardo had been a welcome visitor to the training ground.

"We saw him today. He came in and it was fantastic. He looked good. He is positive in his mind and a strong boy mentally," Wenger said.

"Of course we are sad to lose him for the season. But we are all pleased at the way he is dealing with it.

"Everybody who has been in this situation knows how difficult this is to take."

The manner of Arsenal's victory over holders Milan means they will head into Friday's Champions League quarter-final draw confident of making further progress towards Moscow.

There are no seedings and as such the draw could pair Arsenal with any of the seven teams in the draw.

With the first leg of the quarter-finals scheduled for either April 1 or 2, clubs will have less than three weeks to get their preparations in order.

Wenger revealed he was "on alert" for any possibility - with the logistics of a potential trip to the edge of Asia as well as the relative home comforts of a shorter journey also in mind.

"You prepare [for the draw] in one sense that you are on alert to know where do you travel because don't forget that you could go to Turkey as well as England," he said.

"If it's England you don't need to travel too much because we always stay in the same hotels.

"If it is to Turkey, particularly with the time between the draw and the first game being very short, you have to organise that very quickly.

"Then the scouting department is on alert as well because you have to respond and react very quickly."

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