An air of optimism surrounds Emirates Stadium this season as Arsenal have not suffered a defeat there, except for their defeats to Manchester United and Southampton. They are also in an impressive run of form as of late, having registered seven victories in eight games notching up twenty goals in the process.

In an interview with the Sun, Theo Walcott revealed that Alexis Sanchez is an inspirational figure in the dressing room as he urges his teammates not just to pull off victories against Monaco, but to dethrone Real Madrid as the kings of Europe.

“Alexis has been saying we have to stick together and he believes we can win the Champions League. He has been saying this to the players during training. We have to have that confidence in the Champions League.”

In the past four campaigns, Arsenal had been drawn with European heavyweights - Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspired AC Milan in the knockout stages of the Champions League. However, the Gunners are now set to face Monaco, who do not seem so mighty as their previous opponents in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Speaking of their chances, the English international stated that they need to make a statement to the footballing world by claiming a victory over the French outfit. Furthermore, he suggested that his teammates should turn a deaf ear to the doubters and added that Arsenal are entitled to achieve big things this season.

“We need everyone to believe. It is a good time to make a statement to the other teams in the Champions League — to say we are ready to win it. Let’s start with a good performance against Monaco.”

“Some people may doubt us, we mustn’t listen to them. People are entitled to their opinion but I think this team could achieve big things.”