The penultimate round of fixtures at the group stage of European competitions takes place this midweek and Arsenal will be keen to see how events unfold in the Champions League.
Having secured a place in the Europa League knockout phase thanks to a 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven in last Thursday's rearranged fixture, the next challenge facing the Gunners is to clinch top spot in Group A, as the reward is avoiding a round of 32 play-off against a side transferring over from Europe's elite competition after Christmas.
As is the case in the Champions League, the eight teams who finish third in their respective groups will drop down into the Europa League and face the eight group runners-up in a knockout round play-off tie, with the winners then progressing to the round of 16.
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Heading into Tuesday's fixtures, the north London outfit know they will avoid ties against Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Napoli in the Europa League after they qualified for the Champions League last-16 on matchday four. Meanwhile, defending champions Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica are on the verge of joining the aforementioned quartet.
It's also worth noting that of the other 28 teams competing in the Champions League group phase, not one has been eliminated from European competition altogether yet, so it's still very much a waiting game for the Gunners - as well as Manchester United - to see who will be joining them in the Europa League.
Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, as things currently stand, are the three teams assured of a Europa League knockout round play-off place at the very least. Although, they will continue their journey in the Champions League in the new year if results go their way on matchday five.
Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are well-placed to avoid a Europa League transfer. In fact, the Blues can qualify for the last-16 by beating Red Bull Salzburg and if AC Milan are victorious against Dinamo Zagreb. Spurs will also progress with a win over Sporting CP, but anything less will set up a nervy final matchday for Antonio Conte's side.
Of course, the picture will become even clearer once Tuesday and Wednesday's fixtures have been completed, as there's a strong chance that some of European football's heavyweights who are struggling in this year's competition, such as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, will discover their Champions League dream is over and face the prospect of transferring to the Europa League.
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