LONDON • Lose today and Arsenal's season will realistically be over.

That is the prospect facing the Gunners, who are 11 points off the top four in the Premier League.

With Champions League qualification via a top-flight finish looking a tall order, Arsenal's exile from the competition is set to extend to a fifth year running unless they can win the Europa League.

As such, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has called today's last-32, second-leg game with Benfica "a final".

The contest is finely poised at 1-1 but while Arsenal have the advantage on away goals, there is no home-ground factor as the game is being played in Athens due to Covid-19 travel restrictions between Portugal and Britain.

On the contest, Arteta said yesterday: "It's a big game and a really important mentally and confidence-wise. It's going to dictate if we're in another competition or not for a few more weeks.

"This is really what we need. It's a really tough opponent. It's a Champions League team with a manager (Jorge Jesus) with huge experience.

"The away goal is always important but in this case, in this context, I don't think it's that relevant. We take the game like there is everything still to play for. It's the second half and we need to go there to try to go to win the game... without the fans, without being in our stadium or anything, I think makes the game very tricky."

Arteta ruled out defender Rob Holding, who suffered a concussion over the weekend, while he will give midfielder Thomas Partey a late fitness test.

However, his biggest concern will be over the prolonged poor form of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The striker was guilty of wasting several gilt-edged chances in the first leg and was anonymous against Manchester City last weekend, prompting criticism by pundit Jamie Redknapp that he was "past his best".

With just 11 goals in all competitions, Aubameyang, 31, is enduring his worst scoring campaign since 2010-11 despite signing a bumper three-year deal last summer.

In the other second-leg games, Manchester United, who have a 4-0 lead, host Real Sociedad, while Spurs welcome Austria's Wolfsberg, leading 4-1 on aggregate. Slavia Prague travel to Leicester after a goal-less first leg.

REUTERS

ARSENAL V BENFICA

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