Arsenal will face AC Milan in the Europa League last 16.
AC Milan club manager Christian Abiatti believes his side’s upcoming clash with Arsenal in the Europa League last 16 will be a fascinating tie and labelled the encounter a historic challenge, Tuttomercatoweb report.
The Gunners reached the second knockout phase of the Europa League after finally dispatching of Swedish minnows Ostersunds despite suffering a scare during the 2-1 home defeat in the second leg.
Milan advanced more comfortably after defeating Ludogorets 4-0 on aggregate, and the Italian giants will be confident heading into their clash with Arsenal considering their good form at present.
The two sides have met in European knockout rounds before, with their last meeting almost creating history as Arsenal nearly recovered from a 4-0 first-leg deficit, winning 3-0 in the return leg.
Abiatti was the goalkeeper that night, and the present club manager (a liaison between players and coaching staff) has cited the tie as a historic clash and hopes for a more straightforward victory this time around.
“With Arsenal it’s a fascinating, it’s a historic challenge, it will be a good match,” Abiatti told Tuttomercatoweb.
“The last time we won 4-0 at home and then in London it was a disaster, losing 3-0 … we risked going out.
“There was a face to face between us, we could not throw away a perfect match but with 45 minutes gone it was so horrendous, it’s a good tie, against a great team, maybe it’s not Arsenal of the past but for us it’s positive.”
Both teams have fallen somewhat from that classic Champions League two-legged affair, and the Europa League now takes on extra importance for both teams as they seek a return to Europe’s elite competition.
Arsene Wenger’s side are currently eight points behind the top four in the Premier League, while Milan are down in seventh place in Serie A and also eight points adrift despite winning four of their past five league games.
The winners of the competition will advance straight in to the Champions League group stage next season, and right now it represents the best chance either side will have of competing there again.
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