Valdes - Barca can cope

Valdes: Arsenal challenge

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes believes the Spanish giants have enough strength to cope without Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique.

The Catalan giants host Arsenal in the second-leg of their UEFA Champions League clash having fought out a 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

It was a game marred by injuries and bookings, with both sides losing influential players.

Puyol was shown red for a challenge on Fabregas late in the game whilst Pique picked up his third yellow card of the tournament, meaning both will sit out the return leg next week.

Valdes admits that both players will be missed but insists his side have enough strength-in-depth to cope.

Quality

"The absences of Puyol and Pique are important," he said.

"But the players in the squad have a lot of quality and they will be able to cover for them."

Barca frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes a 2-2 draw is still a good result considering the return fixture is in Spain.

However, the Sweden international, who netted a brace on Wednesday, has warned his side that they must be on top of their game for the entire match to avoid any slip ups.

"They scored two goals late on, even so it is a good result for us," he said.

"We gave everything to win, but they've managed to score.

"This is the Champions League and you must play from start to finish, until the referee blows the whistle.

"We have to be positive ahead of the second game."