Arsenal: Key players

David Seaman
Nationality: British
Age: 36

England's keeper will have to produce the best form of what, for him, has been an indifferent season if he hopes to keep a clean sheet against Galatasaray.

If anyone has the experience to perform on the big occasion it is Seaman, who broke the previous English record of 353 league appearances for a goalkeeper last year.

He has the added incentive of pressure on his England place from the likes of Leeds' Nigel Martyn, and will pull out all the stops in bid to hand the Gunners victory and cement his place as number one.

Relaxed and confident in penalty shoot-outs, he became a national hero when his saves knocked Spain out of Euro 96.

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Tony Adams
Nationality: British
Age: 33

Since becoming captain in 1988, Adams has collected more silverware than any other skipper in the club's history and would love to add the Uefa Cup to that haul.

A defender of enormous stature, his season has been blighted by persistent injury that at one stage looked as if it might force him to retire.

But his late return to fitness has been a major boost to the Gunners in both their end of season run-in and the second leg of their Uefa Cup semi-final against Lens.

An Arsenal man through and through, Adams joined as a schoolboy in 1980.

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Kanu
Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 23

Kanu is an extraordinarily gifted forward with a deceptive turn of pace and the happy habit of producing late winners.

The Nigerian international has twice been African player of the year, in 1996 and 1999, in addition to winning Olympic gold with the national side in Atlanta and the Champions League with Ajax.

But he has found it difficult to settle in North London, and looked as if he might leave the Gunners when he failed to return on time from the African Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Fortunately for Arsenal, he opted to sign an new contract, guaranteeing that he will be gracing Highbury with his distinctive pistol-shooting celebration for at least another four years.

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Thierry Henry
Nationality: French
Age: 22

Henry's astonishing tally of goals - 12 in his last 10 appearances - almost single-handedly assured Arsenal of a place in next year's Champions League.

Galatasaray's tacticians will be devoting a lot of thought to how they can neutralise this 1996 Young Footballer of the Year, who is such a blistering vein of form.

He was also France's top scorer in their 1998 World Cup campaign, making it small wonder that manager Arsene Wenger chose to bring the striker with him from Monaco.

To add a Uefa Cup winners medal to his impressive collection would be a phenomenal achievement for such a young player.

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Emmanuel Petit
Nationality: French
Age: 29

Despite rumours early this month that Petit might be on his way to Real Madrid, the man who scored France's third goal in the World Cup final will form a key part of Wenger's plans on Wednesday.

The distinctively pony-tailed midfielder is another former Monaco star who joined in 1997 after nine years and league and cup success with the French side.

He sparked controversy earlier in the season when he blamed a gesture he made at Aston Villa fans on racist comments.

That aside, he is one of Wenger's more level-headed French recruits - earning just five yellow cards in the league - and adds enormous authority to both the Gunners' midfield and defence.