Arsenal won their final Champions League game against Girona, coming from a goal behind to score two in four minutes in the North of Spain to win 2-1.
Goals from Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri ensured that Arsenal will be heading off to their warm-weather training in Dubai, reminiscent of the break they had last season, after which they only dropped four points from 18 games.
The Gunners were all but confirmed as through in the top eight places which confirmed automatic qualification to the last 16, but Mikel Arteta still named a strong, albeit much changed, Arsenal team.
Danjuma puts Girona ahead
Despite dominating from the start, Arsenal found themselves behind in the 28th minute when Arnaut Danjuma snuck in behind the defence and slotted in from outside the box, around an awol Neto making his first appearance for the Gunners.
Despite being behind, the game went back into the usual form and Arsenal drew level from the spot after Thomas Partey was fouled in the box. Jorginho did what Jorginho does and parity was restored on 38 minutes.
Arsenal were ahead after 42 minutes when Ethan Nwaneri showed his class. The young pretender to Bukayo Saka cut in from the right, selling two dummies before thumping a curled effort into the bottom corner.
Girona thought they had levelled the game with a goal from Cristhian Stuani before it was ruled out for offside in the build-up. Arsenal then had a chance to make it 3-1 with another penalty in extra time however Raheem Sterling fluffed his lines from the spot.
Job done in Spain
2-1 to the Arsenal, job done, and now they look ahead to Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday.
Here are the Arsenal player ratings:
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Arsenal Player Ratings
Neto - 5
His Arsenal debut started with a shaky first touch, and an okay second. He was not as sure with his feet as David Raya but he made fine saves bar the glaring mistake for the goal.
Riccardo Calafiori - 8
Showed his class throughout the game. He showed great strength going forward and had a good goal disallowed for offside.
He makes defending look easy too and attacks from Girona down the left became limited. Says a lot that more attacks came down the left after he was substituted.
Thomas Partey - 5
He was caught out by Danjuma early and then was one of the main players at fault for the Girona goal.
He did win Arsenal the penalty through sheer determination but was substituted at half time because of the obvious weakness Arsenal had down their right hand side with him.
Gabriel - 7
A standardly strong and commanding night for Arsenal's number six. Gabriel rarely has a bad game now and does so well to make up for his teammates mistakes when defending.
Jakub Kiwior - 6
Never looked sure when things came to him and was pressing unnecessarily leaving a gaping hole for Danjuma to run into for the goal. He regained himself after but always looked shaky.
Mikel Merino - 6
A busy performance without being truly impactful on the game. It was another match where he showed that he is composed and a good player, just was he what Arsenal needed when he was purchased.
Jorginho - 7
The Italian took his penalty well and was always composed and calm on the ball.
Martin Odegaard - 7
A quiet but busy night for the captain. Even at his least impactful, Odegaard is always running, always moving and in this game was always almost about to do something amazing.
There was an outrageous moment where he made a player do a jig before leaving another on the floor.
Raheem Sterling - 7
A weird night for Sterling. He was impactful in the first half, combining well with Calafiori and beating his man at every opportunity. The final ball was left lacking sometimes but you saw how dangerous Sterling could be again.
He was unfortunate to get a yellow for the dive and the fans will remember his missed penalty at the end. He tried so hard this game but the end product in terms of assists and goals still aren't there. Still had a good game though.
Leandro Trossard - 6
Played out of position through the middle where he is less impactful. He had a chance early on but could not impact the game well.
He had another chance in the second half where he hit the crossbar but rarely could do more. Good link up play with forward line where Arsenal dominated possession so saw a lot of the ball.
Ethan Nwaneri - 9
The young star shone. He was on corners and provided some of the most dangerous crosses from the right that we have seen since Saka was taking them.
He took his goal exactly like Saka could as well showing what a dynamite left foot he has. He expressed himself well on the ball and surely had all fans purring at his potential.
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Substitutes
Jurrien Timber - 7
Came on for Partey and was so much more assured on the right. He balanced Arsenal well as him and Calafiori took locked down the wings.
The game had a real lull for a while and that was down to Timber coming on and stopping any Girona attacks.
Kai Havertz - 6
No real chances for the German but sped up Arsenal's play when he came on after the 70th minute.
Myles Lewis-Skelly - 6
As good as Lewis-Skelly looks, after he came on there were problems coming down the left hand side which culminated in the offside goal.
He did show some great moments in tackles and is a developing player who does get better every time you see him.
Declan Rice - N/A
Only on for a little while but helped Arsenal see out the game.
Gabriel Martinelli - N/A
Full of energy for the eight minutes he played for.
