Lyon hope to follow Arsenal lead
Lyon assistant Remi Garde says the French side will take the lead of his ex-club Arsenal to try to beat AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Lyon travel to Italy as underdogs for the second leg of their quarter-final with the tie delicately poised at 0-0.
"The past of AC Milan is massive and we don't have the experience at this level of competition," Garde told Sir Stanley.
"But when you see the game Arsenal had against Juventus we need to be inspired by that."
Garde, who is part of manager Gerard Houllier's backroom staff, is aware Lyon will face a hostile atmosphere at the San Siro.
But he senses a steely focus from the club's players rather than the fear of facing their illustrious rivals.
"We are not the favourites in this game but all the players, the club and the city want to qualify for the next round so we are going to make it as tough as possible for Milan," said the 39-year-old former Lyon captain.
"They have stars, they have 80,000 people behind them but we are not afraid of that."
Lyon are on the way to a fifth consecutive French league title as well as being involved in their country's domestic cup competition.
But Garde added: "This game in Milan is the most important of the season and I think I can feel that in the team.
"The players are really focused on the chance as maybe we will not have it again for a few years so this is something very special for us."
Garde admits the suspension of midfielder Tiago for the tie is a big blow but, on the other had, says the return of Juninho will give Lyon a crucial lift.
"It is very important because he is the type of player who can turn a game," he added.
"He can do that not only with a free-kick but he is a leader for all the other players because when you play with him you can give him the ball and he will give you back a better ball.
"He is someone very important for all the players. His return is very important for us.
"By his importance I think he reminds me of Dennis Bergkamp who had the same role.
"We knew when I was playing at Arsenal that when Dennis was in outstanding form we could win at any moment.
"He was able to score a fantastic goal or give an assist at any moment in the game.
"Juninho is like that. Like Dennis, he is also a superb person. He is very humble and a big star but a great man."
Garde, 39, represented Lyon between 1982 and 1993 and the defender helped the club achieve promotion to the top-flight in 1989.
He added: "The club has changed in many ways. Actually I could say everything has changed. This is now a massive club and the current chairman has done a fantastic job.
"We are now playing everything in front of 40,000 people and there are nearly 200 people working around the club.
"That is completely different to when I left the club when there were about 10-15 people employed by the club.
"The progression of the club has hardly stopped and for everybody we are still growing and we all want to win a European trophy."
