By John Sinnott

McCarthy has scored 15 goals this season for Blackburn

Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy hopes to make a massive impact on his return to the Rovers side in Wednesday's FA Cup replay against Arsenal.

McCarthy, 29, was rested at the weekend but is set to start at Ewood Park.

"We face an unbelievable task, but we're going to have to try and run hard and be focused and we shouldn't give them a chance to play their game.

"If we play aggressive football and don't let them settle, then we're in with a chance," he told BBC Sport.

McCarthy has been surprised by just how tough the adjustment to playing in the Premiership this season has proved.

"From the first game I played my lungs were hanging out," he said as he prepares for Blackburn's FA Cup fifth round replay with the Gunners.

"I didn't think I would last. It was so physical and the games have been so demanding.

"The thought always pops up in my head - I might have done well in this game, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do well in the next game.

"That is always my worry - can I do it week-in and week-out?"

If you don't do the dirty work, the hard yards, it means nothing Benni McCarthy

During a 30-minute interview McCarthy sounds more like a warrior than a professional footballer at times as he reflects on his Blackburn career since moving from Porto in the summer.

His language is liberally sprinkled with words such as battle, fight, courage, and heart.

During his time with Ajax, Celta Vigo and Porto, McCarthy won 10 titles, including the Champions League in 2004 when he played under current Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

"I was never going to sign for one of the big English teams," said McCarthy on his decision to sign for Blackburn for a fee thought be around �2.5m. "Those clubs are looking to sign younger players and are thinking of towards the future.

"I knew I was coming to a team where I would have to fight for a place in the starting line-up and then battle for a Uefa Cup place with the team.

"It's a different challenge, but I'm always up for a new challenge and I'm think I'm not doing too badly."

Like an angel on his shoulder, Blackburn manager Mark Hughes is always there to remind McCarthy, who is the club's top scorer with 15 goals this season, of the benefits of hard work.

"He is always telling me that you can be the best player in the world, but that if you don't do the dirty work, the hard yards, it means nothing.

McCarthy rates the Premier League as better than the Spanish league

"He has told me I'm probably one of the most gifted and skillful players that he has ever played with or has had in one of the teams that he has managed, but that I can be even greater.

"I can do much better things if I can adapt to the English way of thinking - the hard work and chasing the balls down.

"If I can do that with my skill and ability then I can be a complete player."

Hughes has introduced McCarthy to the joys of the computerised performance analysis system Pro-Zone, which is used by the Welshman for pre-match preparations and post-match debriefs.

"It's a system that in part measures how much you run," said McCarthy. "I've been climbing up the ladder and I'm doing a couple of miles a game now. I never used to work as hard as this when I was with Porto because we always had the ball."

McCarthy jokingly describes Hughes the player as a "scary character", though the former Manchester United striker has been mellowed by management.

McCarthy is left disconsolate by Blackburn's Uefa Cup exit

"He is very humble and quiet," said McCarthy. "He has a different character than when he set foot on the pitch as a player.

"As a manager he's so laid back, so calm and so full of class.

"He lets us express ourselves and he is trying new different things than when he was a player. He is young and he can only get better."

Arsenal beat Blackburn at Ewood Park earlier this season and McCarthy predicts a bright future for Arsene Wenger's young side.

"They are high flyers - for such a young team they play great football and it's a joy to watch the way they move the ball.

"In two years these young players are going to be ready and Arsenal will be the team to beat."