LONDON (AFP) - Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal have nothing to fear as they face up to the daunting prospect of meeting one of Europe's leading clubs in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Wenger's side were forced to settle for second place in Group H despite their 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday because Sevilla won at Slavia Prague.

That means the Gunners will be paired with either AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan or Porto in the first knockout round in February.

Those five teams represent the cream of European football, but Wenger is convinced his emerging side are good enough to overcome any obstacle put in their way when the draw is made on December 21.

"We finish with 13 points which is good but not good enough to win the group. That promises us a very interesting match in the last 16," Wenger said.

"It's a good opportunity for us. Two years ago we played Juventus and won. Last year we played PSV Eindhoven and lost.

"I believe we can cause some surprises. I'm highly confident we can beat everybody. I have great belief in my players and my team and in our ability to become stronger from month to month. The next match is in February and we will be even stronger then."

Wenger had an unusual view of the Steaua match as he watched from the stands while serving his suspension for last month's sending off at Sevilla.

UEFA will decide on Thursday whether to give Wenger an additional one-match ban which would force him to have no contact with the team at the stadium before the first leg of the second round.

The Frenchman said: "I don't think they have enough to extend the ban. We will be at home first in the next round so I would like to be down on the pitch.

"But it was not a big problem. I could speak to the players in the hotel before the game. For the changes I could still communicate but I didn't go into the dressing room. How did I communicate? That is a good question!"

While Wenger waits to discover his fate, he will take heart from Robin van Persie's return from two months out with a knee injury.

The Dutch striker played for 65 minutes and looked as though he had never been away. Wenger hinted he could start against Chelsea on Sunday, with Mathieu Flamini also in contention to return. Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb are less likely to feature.

"Robin is ready physically. He looked sharp. His eye was there, his pass was there. He needs to regain confidence to go into challenges. But on the footballing side it looked as though he had never been out," Wenger said.

"We have some other players who are injured like Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini. We have to assess the situation on the next three or four days. I might take a risk on one or two, but to do it with three or four would be risky."

Despite van Persie's excellence, it was Theo Walcott who provided the impetus as Arsenal took the lead in the eighth minute.

The teenager spread a pass wide to Bacary Sagna and his cross was met by Abou Diaby, who stroked a shot high into the far corner.

Van Persie set up the second as he slipped Nicklas Bendtner through in the 42nd minute. The Dane showed tremendous poise as he took a touch before slotting his shot under Robinson Zapata.

Steaua scored with virtually their first attack in the 69th minute. Florin Lovin swung in a deep cross and Dorel Zaharia got in front of Armand Traore to loop a header over Jens Lehmann.

Steaua coach Marius Lacatus belives his players will improve as a result of facing Arsenal.

"We were not afraid but we might have had too much respect for them," he said. "At half-time I told the players they don't have anything to lose. They should have benefited from this experience."