Benfica boss Jorge Jesus admits he is losing no sleep knowing that his side have to face Arsenal in the Europa League.
The two teams were drawn together in the round of 32 earlier this week.
Only in recent years has Arsenal's demise meant they have played in Europe's secondary competition having been regulars in the Champions League.
Once upon a time they would've been a feared opponent, but Jesus' reaction proves their stock has fallen.
Benfica have won seven of their nine league games while Arsenal have struggled.
Mikel Arteta has now seen his side lose fourth straight league games at the Emirates with the Gunners languishing in the bottom half.
The north Londoners won six from six in the group stages, but Jesus is adamant that if Benfica have ambitions of winning the tournament they have to be seeing off teams like Arsenal.
“I have the greatest respect for Arsenal, but it doesn’t take away my sleep or confidence," he told the Record.
"We keep the power to get through this tie, we have the ability to do so, even though we know we will find a strong opponent. Record ).
“We cannot be concerned about this. If we don’t have the capacity to beat Arsenal, we don’t have the capacity to reach the Europa League final either.
“Before the draws, nobody knows what could happen, but I felt that Benfica would find a strong team.
"When I’m in the Champions League or Europa League, I always get strong teams. Me and the club where I am.”
Arsenal have reached the semi-final and the final of the competition over the past three years.
Despite their domestic struggles they are among the favourites to lift the trophy in Gdansk come May.
