We head into the knock out stages of the Champions League on Tuesday night, on the back of an excellent league phase during which we won six of our eight matches, scoring 16 goals and conceding just three.
We finished third in the 36-team league, and we trailed for just 65 minutes of the whole league stage, which is just eight per cent of total playing time. In addition we have the lowest average expected goals (xG) against per game in the competition this season, as well as allowing the fewest shots on target against per game (2.4).
We've kept a clean sheet in 63 per cent of our games in the competition this term and Mikel Arteta said our defensive record is providing a solid foundation.
"We had played very differently home and away in the last year, especially in Europe," the boss said. "We have been much more consistent, we have scored a lot of goals, we have conceded hardly anything, I think we have conceded three goals and the lowest expected goals (against) in the group stage which is great.
"So that’s a big platform, so we have those resources at the disposal of the team, it’s something the team has already done and now we have to continue to do it.
"If you look at the history of the teams who have been very successful, the defensive record is critical," he added. "And then we have shown we have the capacity to score a lot of goals in the competition, obviously the options are different but the team still has a lot of resources to do that."
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