AC Milan manager, Christian Abbiati, has had his say on drawing Arsenal in the final 16 of the Europa League and while he admits this isn’t the same side they used to be, he expects a good match.

Abbiati, who’s been in charge of Milan since June 2017, was in goal last time Arsenal faced off against the Serie A giants. The former player was at the Italian club from 1998-2016, picking up loan spells at Juventus, Torino and Atletico Madrid along the way.

Therefore, although he watched his side win 4-0 at the San Siro back in February 2012, he was also on the receiving end of a dramatic 3-0 defeat in north London.

“With Arsenal it’s a fascinating, historic challenge,” Abbiati told Sky about the draw, reports Italian website Tuttomercatoweb. “It will be a good match, certainly the last time we won 4-0 at home and then in London it was a disaster. We lost 3-0. We risked going out.

“I hope that in this challenge the same thing will not happen again.

“Milan can go through because the support alone. The San Siro will be full, the team can do it.”

Christian Abbiati arseanl
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 06: Christian Abbiati of AC Milan reacts during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan at Emirates Stadium on March 6, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

He continued, “There was a face to face between us. We could not throw away a perfect match with a horrendous 45 minutes.

“It’s a good race, against a great team.

“Maybe it’s not Arsenal of the past but for us it’s positive.”

Although Abbiati says that Arsenal are no longer the same side they were six years ago, neither are Milan.

The Serie A team are in a similar position; they’re down in seventh place in the table after winning just 12 games from 25.

They’ve let in 30 goals and scored 35.

Arsenal are in sixth place in the Premier League having won 13 games in 27, shipping 36 and netting 51.

The difference is, Milan seem to have turned a corner lately. They haven’t lost a match in any competition since 23 December against Atalanta.

Arsenal just lost to Östersunds FK at the Emirates…