Even victory on Tuesday night may not be enough if Bayern Munich fail to beat Olympiakos in Germany.
Arsenal were thrashed 5-1 when they visited Munich a fortnight ago and they have now only won one in five.
They passed up the chance to move to the top of the Premier League having slipped to defeat at West Brom on Saturday -- a result made worse as key midfielder Francis Coquelin suffered a serious knee injury.
The 24-year-old has developed into a first-team regular at Emirates Stadium with Wenger confirming he will be missing for at least two months and is hoping a scan does not rule the France international out for even longer.
''I'm always a bit cautious,'' he said when asked about the seriousness of Coquelin's injury.
''It is at least two months but I'm cautious as we had so many bad surprises on scans that I do not want to speculate more than that. Certainly for the next two months we play without Coquelin.
''It is of course a disappointment to lose him in the longer term but we have in the squad the players who can compensate. We have lost a player of quality for a while but we know that can happen."
Wenger insisted in his L'Equipe interview that he had never told any of his players to take a performance-enhancing substance as a matter of personal pride. However, he went on to suggest that opponents down the years may not have been as honest -- admitting he can understand the reasons behind the temptation to dope.
"You look at the psychological tests that have been done for 20 years and the temptation is natural," he said. "When a guy is second, and I speak about track and field, there is only room for the hero -- that means the winner.
"The second, nobody cares about. So when he sees he arrives second and the first cheats, he thinks what have I to do? The temptation is of course there. Nobody cares about the second, and sometimes the second is maybe the guy who doesn't cheat."
He also again said the result in Zagreb should have been overturned, as it would have done should an ineligible player had been fielded.
"It doesn't look logical, especially if you test only three [players]," he said. "I said before that I want better controls. And we got better controls straight away [with Friday's tests]. "I don't remember we have been controlled before. We have nothing against it. I more called for blood check. That's a major issue."
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