Arteta confirms Arsenal to play strong team v Girona as 2 return to training | OneFootball

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Arsenal conclude their Champions League league-phase campaign with a maiden trip to Girona on Wednesday, knowing a draw guarantees a spot in the competition’s last-16.

Having already registered three wins in a row, Mikel Arteta’s side aims to maintain momentum against a Girona team who have struggled domestically and are already eliminated from Europe.

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Arsenal’s 4-3-3 system, featuring returning players like Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino, should offer defensive resilience and creative flair against a Girona outfit prone to late lapses and susceptible to high-tempo play.

With all 36 group-stage teams kicking off simultaneously, it promises to be a dramatic evening as Arsenal strive to secure a top-eight finish and then quickly refocus on the Premier League, where they host Manchester City at the weekend.

Arsenal sit third in the 36-team table with 16 points. Currently three points clear of those chasing automatic qualification, Arteta’s side can still climb to second—though Liverpool have already secured top spot—and every place higher potentially boosts their chances of facing a more favourable opponent.

Should Arsenal narrowly miss out on the top eight due to an unlikely series of freak results, they would enter a two-legged play-off in February, but that scenario remains unlikely given a significant goal difference advantage.

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Finishing among the top four also ensures seeding and could help avoid other heavyweights until later in the knockout rounds.

Match results across all fixtures could alter the final standings, and a draw on 31 January will help shape the play-off pairings—though Arsenal will hope their qualification is sealed in Girona.

Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Mikel Arteta said, “We’re here to win the game.

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“In order to do that we’re going to have to be better than them. They’re a really good side, if you look at the games they’ve played in the Champions League against top opposition, they’ve made life very difficult for them.

“Tomorrow it will be a very strong team in order to achieve what we want to do because mathematically the qualifying at the moment is uncertain.”

Matchday 8 fixtures

Aston Villa (9th) v Celtic (18th)Barcelona (2nd) v Atalanta (7th)Bayer Leverkusen (8th) v Sparta Prague (29th)Bayern Munich (15th) v Slovan Bratislava (35th)Borussia Dortmund (14th) v Shakhtar Donetsk (27th)Brest (13th) v Real Madrid (16th)Dinamo Zagreb (26th) v AC Milan (6th)Girona (31st) v Arsenal (3rd)Inter Milan (4th) v Monaco (10th)Juventus (17th) v Benfica (21st)Lille (12th) v Feyenoord (11th)Manchester City (25th) v Club Brugge (20th)PSV Eindhoven (19th) v Liverpool (1st)Red Bull Salzburg (34th) v Atletico Madrid (5th)Sturm Graz (33rd) v RB Leipzig (30th)Sporting Lisbon (23rd) v Bologna (28th)Stuttgart (24th) v Paris Saint-Germain (22nd)Young Boys (36th) v Red Star Belgrade (32nd)