Bukayo Saka has urged Arsenal to wrap up Champions League progress early this week to help ease fixture demands ahead of the busy festive period.
Arsenal can seal top spot in Group B with a game to spare by beating Lens at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. That would make their trip to PSV Eindhoven next month a dead rubber.
The Gunners beat Brentford 1-0 on Saturday to go top of the Premier League and that was their first of 10 games in 37 days before the end of the year.
Asked if it was important to beat Lens to secure Champions League qualification early, Saka said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. I’m really focussed on that.
“We weren’t happy to lose to Lens away so we’re looking forward to winning this game. Winning the group is really important.
“Right now we’re getting good results, we’re top of the League and we’re only going to keep progressing, improving and getting better as a team.”
Kai Havertz was Arsenal’s hero on Saturday after he came off the bench to score an 89th-minute winner.
The German has struggled since his £65million summer move from Chelsea, but Saka hopes his goal can be a turning point.
“He has a song with the fans that we were all laughing at,” he said. “We put it on in the changing room as well.
“That was a good moment for him and I just hope he can continue like this and keep scoring more important goals for us.
“He’s never stopped trying or believing in himself and coming out in every session and every game to do his best for us and for the fans.”
