Arsenal’s chances of actually progressing to the knock-out stages of the Champions League are slim-to-none at the moment but Per Mertesacker still wants us to give it our all against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.

The big German spoke ahead of the match at the Emirates, acknowledging that the chances we have of going through are small, but we still need to put in the same kind of performance that beat Bayern Munich.

“We want to remain in the competition for sure,” the centre back said. “It has been difficult for us due to our results and our performances but there is still a chance for us and we want to take it seriously.”

Per added, “We beat one of the best teams in Europe at home so let’s put that in our minds, be confident and put in a performance.”

Although a lot of fans gave up on the idea of progressing long ago, it still means a lot to the players and it’s clear that being in the competition is a huge privilege for them.

It’s a shame that we’re probably out but on the other hand it should teach us a lesson that we need to take it more seriously and also allow us to concentrate on the league. That is unless we somehow get into the Europa League, which will be annoying.