Arsenal v AC Milan - Preview and possible lineups
We take a look ahead to Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg clash between Arsenal and AC Milan at the Emirates, with the 'Gunners' leading 2-0 from the first leg.
Arsenal: Defender Shkodran Mustafi is available, despite limping off in victory over Watford at the weekend with a groin problem. Full-backs Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal return to contention following knee and back problems respectively, but long-term absenteed Alxandre Lacazette (knee) and Santi Cazorla (achilles) remain unavailable. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ineligible, meaning that Danny Welbeck is expected to lead the line once again.
AC Milan: The visitors have a selection headache at the back, with full-backs Davide Calabria (calf) and Ignazio Abate (muscle problem) joining first-choice right-back Andrea Conti (knee) on the sidelines. Andre Silva could start in place of Patrick Cutrone after he scored his first league goal for the 'Rossneri' in their 1-0 win over Genoa on Sunday.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey:
"I think we needed that result out in Milan. Obviously, it’s been a bit of a tough run of games for us, but we’ve tried in every single game.
"Sometimes these things just happen where it’s not quite working for you. But that result was important for us out there and hopefully now we can build on this and go from strength to strength until the end of the season.
"I think that they’re a quality team. We’ve seen in the first game how good they are. It was quite a tight game even though we came away with a 2-0 victory.
"They’ve turned a corner as well with their new manager, so they’re on a bit of a good run and it’s going to be important for us to stay focused from the beginning. We can’t take this one lightly at all."
AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso:
"We know it's going to be difficult but in football there is nothing better than giving all yourselves and changing history. We don't come here just for fun or for a little journey.
"They looked like they were running twice as fast as us and we know we're playing against a side with great quality.
"But for me, my players and my staff, nobody underestimates the size of this task. We'll try something different."
Did you know?
Arsenal have gone out of Europe at the last-16 stage in the last seven seasons in a row - all in the Champions League.
Form:
Possible lineups:
Arsenal: Ospina; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Xhaka, Wilshere, Ramsey; Ozil, Welbeck, Mkhitaryan.
AC Milan: Donnarumma; Bonucci, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Rodriguez; Biglia, Bonaventura, Kessie; Suso, Cutrone, Calhanoglu.