Arsenal are preparing for another huge European night as they travel to Portugal to face off with Sporting CP in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. The Gunners will be hopeful of going as far as possible into the competition, having missed out in the final in 2019 to rivals Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta navigated through the group stages while rotating the side for the clashes, beating PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich on their run. The north London outfit finished top of the group, meaning they avoided playing an extra two matches in the playoffs if they finished second instead.
Discussing the competition a few months ago, Arteta mentioned the importance of finishing top and the difficulty of the next few rounds. He told reporters: "This competition is getting harder and harder and how it looks today and what the possibilities are, it looks like the next round will be extremely competitive. That’s why finishing first in the group and avoiding another two games is such an important thing for us.”
