Arsenal manager Unai Emery is hoping to mastermind a victory in the club's Europa League last-16 first-leg clash against Rennes on Thursday night and claims a busy fixture schedule will not be an excuse if they fail to meet their objectives.
The Gunners' trip to Brittany in northwest France is sandwiched between a hard-fought north London derby draw against Tottenham at Wembley and a Premier League battle with Manchester United that could prove pivotal in the crowded race for a top-four finish.
“It is not an excuse for us, we have the habit to play a lot of matches week by week," Emery said. "We played on Saturday, rested Sunday and started to work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and tomorrow I think we are going to be okay to play every player.
"For us, it is a very important match."
Arsenal will be without Alexandre Lacazette at Roazhon Park and in the second leg as he serves the remainder of a three-match ban handed down for his elbow on BATE Borisov defender Aleksandar Filipovic in the round of 32.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who will hope to banish memories of his late penalty miss against Spurs, should spearhead the attack in the Frenchman's absence.
Europa League regular Petr Cech is expected to start in goal against the club for whom he played between 2002-04, but the defence should remain unchanged from the weekend as Emery - in contrast to Chelsea counterpart Maurizio Sarri - seeks to limit the changes.
That should also be the case for the midfield pivot of Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka, though Mesut Ozil may well start further forward in place of the Juventus-bound Aaron Ramsey.
Long-term absentees Danny Welbeck (ankle), Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding (both knee) remain sidelined.
Meanwhile, a Rennes team containing the likes of former Newcastle and Hull man Hatem Ben Arfa should be well rested after their trip to Nîmes Olympique on Saturday was postponed as the LFP allowed them as much time as possible to prepare for the challenge against Arsenal.
Rennes vs Arsenal predicted line-ups
Rennes (4-4-2): Koubek; Zeffane, Da Silva, Mexer, Bensebaini; Bourigeaud, Andre, Grenier, Sarr; Ben Arfa, Hunou
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Mustafi, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal; Guendouzi, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi; Aubameyang
