Eddie Nketiah feels Arsenal should head into the knockout stage of the Champions League with nothing to fear.
A much-changed Gunners’ side drew 1-1 at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night in their final game in Group B.
Both sides were already assured of their place in the last 16 before kick-off at the Philips Stadion, where Nketiah’s first Champions League goal put Arsenal ahead just before half-time. Yorbe Vertessen equalised with a smart finish soon after the restart.
Having won the group, Mikel Arteta’s side will be seeded in the draw for the last 16 on Monday.
And Nketiah sees no reason why Arsenal should not be confident of making a deep run into the competition.
“We are relishing the next round of games,” Nketiah told reporters.
“Playing in this competition, you are always going to get tough draws. Every team in this competition is good and earned the right to play here.
“There is no point being in a competition if you don’t dream to win. We have the quality to do so and we are pushing every day to win every tournament that we enter and play in – that’s our aim and that’s the aim of Arsenal Football Club.
“That’s what the fans want and we are working every day to try and achieve that dream. My dream is to win all of it.
“It (Champions League) is a great competition to be in. We have worked so hard to get there, so we are going to keep pushing every day to deliver and, hopefully, achieve our dreams.”
Nketiah who was one of eight changes for the European tie from the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
The 24-year-old intends to make the most of any chances which come his way.
“Every kid dreams of scoring in the Champions League. It was a nice finish and it was good to get some minutes in the tank,” he said.
“Every game has got a meaning. Although we were through, we wanted to keep winning. We are obsessed with winning, we want to keep pushing.
“For those of us who maybe haven’t played in the last couple of weeks as much as we would have liked, it was a good opportunity to show ourselves and get some sharpness.”
Nketiah added: “I think we are all good players, so we all strive to play at the highest level. I think we have taken to this competition really well.
“We have had a good start and the most important thing is we qualified top and are through. We have enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next round.”
Arsenal host Brighton on Sunday looking to keep up the pressure at the top of the table, now trailing a point behind leaders Liverpool.
Nketiah said: “There are going to be a lot of games, hopefully a lot of minutes to go around. You have just got to be ready.”
Mohamed Elneny and Reiss Nelson both sustained injuries against PSV, so will be assessed ahead of the weekend.
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Xhaka stunner seals DFB-Pokal triumph
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen battled past second-tier Kaiserslautern 1-0 on Saturday to win the DFB-Pokal and secure the club's first domestic double.
Leverkusen missed out on a treble after losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, in what was astonishingly their first defeat of the season in all competitions, after a European record 51-game unbeaten run.
But at Berlin's Olympic stadium, which will host the Euro 2024 final in July, Xabi Alonso's side ensured they capped off a remarkable campaign with another piece of silverware thanks to Granit Xhaka's stunning 16th-minute strike.
The ball rolled out to the former Arsenal man around 25 yards out, and he planted an unstoppable first-time effort into the left-hand side of the net.
They controlled the pace even after they were reduced to 10 men following Odilon Kossounou's second booking a minute before half-time.
Kaiserslautern rarely threatened after the break, with Leverkusen limiting their opponents to just 0.2 expected goals.
And even though they could not add to their lead, Leverkusen were able to comfortably wrap up their second trophy of the best season in the club's history.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen join the club
Leverkusen are only the fifth different side to win the double in Germany since the Bundesliga was founded, after Bayern Munich (13 times), 1. Koln, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
Xhaka's strike was a worthy winner. He became the first Swiss player to score in a DFB-Pokal final.
Barcelona coach Giraldez celebrates 'one of the happiest days' after Women's Champions League triumph
Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez celebrated "one of the happiest days" of his life after his side claimed the Women's Champions League title.
Giraldez led Barca to a 2-0 victory over fellow heavyweights Lyon in Bilbao on Saturday.
Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas got the goals in the second half, as Barca beat Lyon for the first time and won the Champions League for a third season out of the last four.
Giraldez will now leave Barca to take charge of Washington Spirit in the NWSL, but was able to leave on the highest note possible, having won a quadruple this term, becoming the first European team since Arsenal in 2007 to manage such a haul in a single campaign.
He told DAZN: "It was an incredible game, I am really happy, one of the best days of my life for sure.
"We did an amazing job with the ball, without the ball. we suffered in the last minutes, but I'm very proud of all of them."
Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze, whose future with the club is uncertain, told DAZN: "We knew that that's what we needed, to be a club to make history.
"It's not easy, it's hard to win it once. To win it back to back, Lyon showed how difficult it is and this team has finally done that. We go down in history as one of the best teams in Europe."
Barca's two Ballon d'Or winners scored their goals, with Bonmati breaking the deadlock just after the hour before Putellas lashed home in stoppage time.
"She's the captain of the team, she's the Queen of Barcelona for a reason," Bronze said of Putellas.
"She's always so confident in the team and showed today why she is a back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner.
"She's got the quality to do that in the last minute of the Champions League final when we were up against it at the end and just sealed the win for us. It was amazing."
Juventus 2-0 Monza: Departing Alex Sandro scores as Bianconeri round off with a win
Juventus completed their Serie A campaign with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Monza thanks to first-half goals from Federico Chiesa and Alex Sandro.
Juve ended their season on 71 points, third in the standings, though they can still be overtaken by Europa League champions Atalanta, who sit fifth and have two matches left to play.
Chiesa broke the deadlock after 26 minutes on Saturday and long-serving left-back Sandro, playing in his final game for the Bianconeri before departing as a free agent, doubled the lead two minutes later with a header from a corner.
Juve came close to scoring a third early in the second half, but Chiesa's attempt from the edge of the box hit the woodwork.
Thiago Motta is expected to take charge of Juve in the coming days, after his departure from Bologna was confirmed.
Monza ended the campaign in 12th place with 45 points.
Data Debrief: How's your luck?
Chiesa's effort against the frame of the goal means that, since the beginning of the last season, only Inter (36) hit the woodwork more times than Juve (35) in Serie A.
Juve will be hoping to be that bit more clinical next term as they aim to challenge for the title under Motta.
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