Dubai: The strength of the Europa League’s last eight is an added incentive for Arsenal to prove their worth and make amends for a poor domestic season, according to Gunners right-back Hector Bellerin.
The North Londoners will struggle to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, as they are sixth, 13 points off fourth-placed Tottenham with eight games to go.
However, they could still qualify for next season’s Champions League via a Europa League win this year, where they play CSKA Moscow in next month’s quarter-final after beating AC Milan in the last 16.
Other quarter-finalists include Atletico Madrid, Marseille, Lazio and Sporting Lisbon, however, making it an unusually tall order for Arsene Wenger’s men.
“The competition has got really tough teams this year, with teams that could easily be in the same round in the Champions League, so we know it’s going to be really tough,” said the 23-year-old Spaniard on the sidelines of an Arsenal Soccer Schools visit to Dubai’s Sevens Stadium on Friday, with teammates and fellow defenders Calum Chambers and Rob Holding.
“That’s the added incentive, that we have great teams and we are going to show our value when we play against them.
“If we want to make the top, we have to play really strong teams and the fact we played against AC Milan already shows that we are able to beat anyone in that competition.
“We are very happy with that result,” he said of his side’s 5-1 aggregate win over Milan. “They were two very tough games and it probably looked easier than it was, but they are a very tough side to play against, especially tactically.
“After a few defeats before, the team got together and realised it was our chance to make amends,” he added in reference to Arsenal’s three defeats in the last four league games, which ended with a 3-0 home win over Watford last week.
“Of course, this always makes the situation more important,” he said of the Europa League, now that they are almost certainly out of the running for the top four this season.
“It’s really important for us to get into the Champions League not just for us but the club as a whole and to do it through the Europa League is the incentive for us.
“We’ll never give up until the end, we are a team that always fights, things can go against us a lot of the time but we always have that character to try and come out on top and this one isn’t going to be any different.”
Holding said: “We’ve still got to keep pushing in the league, obviously you never know who is going to drop points, but we are realists, it’s a difficult situation we are in to get top four, so the best way is through the Europa League and that’s what we are focusing on and working hard to get.”
Chambers said of the Milan win: “For us to go away and get a result there like we did, I think it was a point we needed to prove for ourselves and everyone else. Going into the next round, we will prepare as we do for every game knowing we are capable of beating any team on our day. We’re all positive and looking forward to the next round against Moscow.”
