LONDON, England: Arsenal became the first side to win all eight matches in the Champions League league phase as the Gunners secured top spot with a 3-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s men were already assured of a place in the last 16 and have also guaranteed they will have home advantage in the second leg of the knockout stages as long as they progress.
“I am very proud of the players and the run that we have had in the first stage of the competition,” Arteta said.
“It is very difficult to win eight games in a row in the Champions League and you can see what has happened with other teams.”
Tournament debutants Kairat finished bottom of the 36-team table with just one point from their eight matches and were never going to be a match for the Premier League leaders.
Arteta could afford the luxury of making 11 changes from the side that lost at the Emirates for the first time this season to Manchester United on Sunday.
The goalscoring return of Kai Havertz could be critical to their chances of silverware in four competitions in the coming months.
“It is going to give him a lot of confidence, and joy and energy and to the team, too,” Arteta said.
“The team knows how important Kai is for us and how he can help the team to be much better and take the team to another level.
“So, the fact that he was able to do that today after such a long time was very impressive.” – AFP
