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LONDON -- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hinted he may start Petr Cech in Thursday's Europa League quarterfinal against CSKA Moscow, having previously said he would use David Ospina throughout the competition. Cech was back in training on Wednesday after missing Sunday's Premier League win over Stoke with a groin injury, and Wenger was vague when asked which goalkeeper will start on Thursday. "You will see that tomorrow," Wenger told a news conference when asked directly if he would stick with Ospina. That is a departure from his usual stance, having consistently said throughout the season that the Colombia international is his cup goalkeeper. However, this competition now represents Arsenal's only chance to win a trophy and secure Champions League football for next season, which could tempt Wenger to switch to Cech, his normal No. 1. Wenger also said striker Alexandre Lacazette is ready for a starting role after making his return from knee surgery by coming on as a substitute against Stoke. Lacazette missed the round-of-16 tie against AC Milan, when Danny Welbeck started up front. January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup tied in the competition. "Lacazette is ready to start, yes. I have not decided if he will start or not yet, but he's available and ready to start," Wenger said. With Cech back, Wenger has a fully fit squad available for the game, aside from long-term absentee Santi Cazorla. Whether they'll be playing in front of a full stadium remains to be seen, though. There have been thousands of seats not taken at the Emirates for Arsenal's recent home games, with about one third of the stadium empty for Sunday's 3-0 win over Stoke, as the team languishes in sixth place in the Premier League. But Wenger expects a much better turnout on Thursday. "I'm not worried about that. I think the crowd, when something is at stake, is always there and behind us. Anyway, on top of that, what will decide the crowd's attitude is the quality of our game," Wenger said. "I'm always concerned when our stadium is not completely full but I don't think that will be a problem tomorrow. For us tomorrow it's about our performance and our crowd will be behind us." Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is trying to win the Europa League for the second year in a row after last season's triumph with Manchester United, but he insisted that Arsenal can't put all of their eggs in one basket and ignore the rest of the league campaign. "We're not going to think that we have to give all our strength and power to the Europa League games. It's not like that, we still have seven games to go in the Premier League and we have to win every game," Mkhitaryan said. "We don't have to think that there are no problems to solve in the Premier League and we don't need to play because were in sixth place. No, we're going to try to give our best and to win the last seven games and then to see where we can go in the Europa League." The Armenian is also familiar with this CSKA Moscow team, having faced them with Man United in the Champions League group stages before his switch to Arsenal in January. "I can say that they are a very good team. They have changed a few players since last year and if they are in the quarterfinal it means they are very good opponent and there are no easy games to play in that stage," he said. "We are going to face a very good team with very good experience. Everybody knows that the defensive line with the Ignashevich brothers, they are more than 35 years old and of course they can help them to play better and be more compact in defence." The game will be played against the backdrop of diplomatic tensions between Russia and Britain in the wake of the poisoning of a former spy on UK soil. But Wenger said he hopes that will not be any issue for the travelling supporters for either leg. "Honestly, nobody knows really what's going on and it looks more to be diplomatic relations between England and Russia at the moment are a bit complicated," Wenger said. "I just hope it won't affect both ties and that it will not affect the supporters. Nor for the Russian people who come over here and not for English people who want to travel there."
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