We may have a precious two-goal lead - two away goals no less - heading into this second leg against AC Milan, but results in Europe over the past week should have cleared minds of any complacency.
Having seen Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea all knocked out of the Champions League, we have had our warning. When you consider the scare we got from Ostersunds in the previous round, when we found ourselves two goals down at the break at the Emirates, we should approach Thursday night's game with extreme caution.
AC Milan had been on a 13-game unbeaten run heading into last week's clash at the San Siro, and while we can be encouraged by our display in Italy, both Arsene Wenger and Aaron Ramsey were at pains to stress that the job is only half done in their pre-match press conference.
Now it is a case of finishing the Rossoneri off, and you can get in the mood for the match by reading our comprehensive pre-match briefing. We’ve got the goals from the first leg, team news, a chat with the manager, match facts, graphics and a chance to have your say.
A FAMILAR FOE
Wenger on "turning the corner" at the San Siro...
“Consistency is a sign of quality. That is the most important quality for me. But sometimes, when you have a negative spiral, it is difficult to get out. That’s why it was important for us to turn the corner. Especially when you have big games in one week, three games in a week. If you lose the first one then it’s a massive game, like we faced in the cup, and you have more chances to lose the next one. It was important to get out of that [cycle]."
TEAM NEWS
ARSENAL: Cazorla (ankle), Lacazette (knee)
AC MILAN: Davide Calabria (calf), Ignazio Abate (muscle injury), Andrea Conti (knee)
THE OPPOSITION
Tactical expert Michael Cox:
“Arsenal’s confident 2-0 victory at San Siro last week didn’t show Milan in a particularly good light - after a positive start, they were largely outplayed. They are considerably better than they showed in the first leg, and Rino Gattuso's side are likely to offer more attacking threat here.
"After all, Milan had been in good form recently, and have largely played well under Gattuso. His 4-3-3 system has got the best from his forwards, although last week Milan’s lack of compactness was surprising, with the wide forwards surprisingly slow to retreat and protect the full-backs."
Aaron Ramsey
THE LAST WORD
Aaron Ramsey on how he assesses the tie after the first leg…
“We saw how good they are and we can’t take our foot off the gas. It’s going to be important for us to treat it as if it’s 0-0, so we can go out there and try to win the game. I think that’s the right mentality and attitude to take into the game."
Matchday Show: AC Milan (h)
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