Mikel Arteta said Arsenal will not take participating in the Europa League for granted ahead of Thursday's tie with Bodo/Glimt, but acknowledges the Gunners have loftier ambitions.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table after a scintillating start to the season; only twice have they bettered this campaign's return of 21 points after eight games in the competition, earning 22 points in 2004-05 and 2007-08.
Having missed out to Tottenham in a fierce battle for Champions League qualification last term, however, Arsenal are competing with Bodo/Glimt, PSV and FC Zurich in Group A of Europe's second-tier competition.
While Arteta knows Champions League football must be the aim for his team, he said Arsenal will "make the most" of their continental campaign.
"Playing in Europe is always great. We know we would want to be playing yesterday or today, but that's the next step," he said on Wednesday.
"This is the reality, and we have to make the most of it.
"It's a test for the squad, in terms of the numbers and the quality. If you make changes, how much you notice it, whether you can continue consistently playing at the top level.
"Everyone's going to have to do that after the World Cup, especially with the schedule.
"It's a competition that is really important for us, we know how important it is to be on top of the group and the home advantage, we have to use it."
Meanwhile, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka have both expressed confidence they will sign new contracts after emerging as key components in Arteta's side, and the Arsenal boss says the club is working on deals for the duo, as well as fresh terms for Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal have been forced to sell several stars after allowing them to run their contracts down in the past, but Arteta moved to quell fears of a repeat, adding: "Obviously we have to plan for the future, and we are all working on it.
"Edu is on top of it, and all the board. We will try to do things in the right way, being fair, and rewarding the players that – in our opinion – have a big future for the club.
"When we have something to announce, we will do it. Every player is different and what happened in the past, the people that were in charge had the right reasons.
"We will try to do the same thing and make sure the club is always protected, that the club is always in a good position to move forward, and the players are happy."
Arsenal saw their first scheduled home game of the Europa League campaign, against PSV, postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last month, and will look to end a poor continental run at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
The Gunners have failed to win any of their last three home European matches (D2 L1), their worst such run since they went six without victory between October 2002 and September 2003.
Aldershot miss out on play-off place after draw at Dagenham
Aldershot rescued a point in a 3-3 draw at Dagenham but missed out on a National League play-off spot.
Daggers striker Inih Effiong opened the scoring in the 34th minute, slamming home his 16th league goal of the season from Josh Hare’s cutback.
Aldershot were awarded a penalty at the start of the second half when Elliott Johnson brought down Kwame Thomas.
The Shots forward looked to be in an offside position and both managers were booked as tempers flared, but Cian Harries kept his cool to convert the spot-kick.
Dagenham boss Ben Strevens was then shown a red card before Lorent Tolaj headed the visitors in front in the 72nd minute.
Ryan Hill finished off a swift counter-attack to pull the home side level with eight minutes left and after Effiong was denied by the woodwork, the Daggers thought they had won it through Dion Pereira’s strike.
There was still time for Aldershot to level, though, as Josh Barrett found the top corner with a free-kick.
Ollie Banks fires late winner for NL Champions Chesterfield against Maidenhead
Ollie Banks scored a late winner as champions Chesterfield ended their time in the National League with a 3-2 victory over Maidenhead in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,108 at the SMH Group Stadium.
The Spireites, having lost four consecutive games since sealing promotion back to the English Football League last month, were 2-0 ahead after half an hour.
Joe Quigley’s fine work helped Liam Mandeville poke in from close range in the 28th minute before the forward got on the scoresheet himself shortly after, firing home after a goal-mouth scramble.
However, Maidenhead came out firing after the interval and were level courtesy of two goals in three minutes, with Tristan Abrahams slotting into an empty net after Harry Tyrer parried Reece Smith’s shot and then Kevin Lokko heading in.
But after Tom Naylor had a goal disallowed and Armando Dobra hit the post, Chesterfield finally found a winner at the death when Banks hammered in.
Altrincham secure home play-off tie with win over relegated Oxford City
Altrincham booked a home tie in the play-offs as they beat Oxford City 1-0 on the final day.
With City long since relegated, Alty knew it was the perfect chance to set up their post-season and they did so thanks to Regan Linney’s first-half goal.
Elliot Newby had already gone close when the opener came, with Newby tripped in the box allowing Linney to convert three minutes before half-time.
Chris Conn-Clarke almost added a second after the break but Altrincham had done enough.
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