DAMIEN Johnson says his young Blackburn Rovers side are relishing the prospect of tonight’s trip to the Emirates Stadium for their Under-21 Premier League Division Two play-off semi-final with Arsenal (7pm kick-off).

The Gunners will be favourites to progress to a showpiece showdown against Aston Villa having finished three places and six points higher up the final standings than Rovers.

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And Arsenal’s starting line-up this evening could also be boosted by the inclusion of three senior international players on the way back to full fitness.

But Johnson insists Rovers have nothing to fear after ending the regular campaign unbeaten in five games.

That run included a 1-0 victory over Arsenal when the teams went head to head at Leigh Sports Village last month.

And Rovers U21 lead coach Johnson said: “It’s one of the best stadiums in the country, a really terrific place to play, and the lads will be relishing the prospect against one of the biggest teams in Europe.

“It will be a brilliant experience but we want to go down there, do ourselves justice and put in a performance.

“We played Arsenal a few weeks ago and we shouldn’t have anything to fear down there. It’s a terrific fixture and we’ve had time to prepare for it.”

Rovers have not played in two weeks since a 2-2 draw at home to Villa sealed their place in the end-of-season tournament which has provided the sides which finished second, third, fourth and fifth with the chance to join Derby County in Division One next season.

Johnson has welcomed the break given the majority of his players were part of the club’s under-18s team which reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup, where they were knocked out over two legs by eventual winners Chelsea.

He said: “It’s been tough for them, balancing the two competitions.

“There was a period when they were having to play Friday and Monday, which isn’t a bad thing as it will prepare them for the first team, as they play a lot of Saturday, Tuesday games, but for a young boy, with all the travelling, it can take a lot out of you.

“They had the disappointment of losing to Chelsea but the response a few nights later to beat West Brom was terrific.

“They’ve been terrific for the most part and it’s testament to the character in the group that they bounced back so well. It’s a great group to work with and myself and David (Dunn, assistant coach) are really pleased with them.”

Arsenal, who missed out on the title to Derby, could hand starts tonight to returning first-team trio Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere.

Should Rovers, who finished fifth, overcome the Gunners they would take on Villa in the final at Villa Park on or before May 10.

Fourth-placed Villa beat third-place Swansea City in the other semi-final.