Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been putting his players through their paces ahead of Thursday’s Europa League trip to PSV Eindhoven.
The high-flying Gunners need just a point to seal a first-placed finish in Group A with a game to spare.
Arsenal, who boast a five-point lead over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s second-placed side, are eager to seal top spot.
Football.london asked Arteta how important it is to finish top of the group in the Europa League. This is bearing in mind Champions League sides will be dropping into the knockouts.
“This competition is getting harder and harder,” he said.
“And I think, as you mentioned, how it looks today and what the possibilities are it looks like the next round is going to be extremely competitive.
“That’s why finishing first in the group and avoiding another two games is such an important thing for us.”
Arteta is likely to pick a strong side against PSV. But at the same time, he could well ring a few changes.
On Wednesday, the Arsenal media team shared photos from their last training session at London Colney before heading off to the Netherlands.
Several youth team stars featured, including Under-18s captain Bradley Ibrahim.
The 17-year-old joined the Arsenal academy in 2017, having spent most of his youth at the QPR academy.
In March this year, Ibrahim signed his first professional contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Ibrahim has described himself as a “dynamic deep midfielder or box-to-box midfielder” who’s also a “good goal threat”.
This season, he has played for both the Under-18s and Under-21s.
It looks as though Arteta rates him highly, and it’ll be exciting to see how he develops this season and in the coming years.