Manager Arsene Wenger does not expect an easy ride as Arsenal aim to get past former club Monaco and secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in four seasons.
The Gunners found themselves unseeded for the knockout stages having finished behind Borussia Dortmund in Group D on goal difference, and so could have again faced one of Europe's big guns, as they did when coming up against German giants Bayern Munich who ended their hopes in the past two seasons.
Monaco were viewed as one of the weaker seeds, have scored only four Champions League goals this season, but still qualified as winners of Group C ahead of Bayer Leverkusen.
However, Wenger - who guided the Principality club to the Ligue 1 title in 1987-88 and semi-finals of the Champions League a few seasons later - insists at this level, any thoughts of complacency can be fatal.
"We have been in the Champions League for 17 consecutive years and that means we would have not learned the lesson - easy is a word that you have to ban in the Champions League," said Wenger, who revealed midfielder Jack Wilshere had been rested from Tuesday's training session as a precaution following his recovery after ankle surgery.
"Every time we were in there, it was hard-earned wins.
"It is always one-goal difference - you go out for one goal, you stay in for one goal and that means you have to work very hard.
"If you look at the teams who are (left) competing they are always a reason to think it is difficult, so let us just try to do the next game, go into that with belief and humility, to try to give everything we can."
Arsenal head into the home leg European of the tie on the back of some impressive domestic form, which has seen them reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and move up into third place in the Barclays Premier League following Saturday's 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
"I heard yesterday, they (Monaco) say we have the pressure because we are favourites, for me it is a 50/50 game," said Wenger.
"There is a pressure on the game, but that is what you want.
"Personally I love that because there is a lot of stake and that is the type of game you want to play when you are a manager or a player."
Wenger continued: "Monaco is a team who made 11 points at the group stage, scored four goals and conceded one, so that means they defend very well.
"That is what they will certainly try to do tomorrow and they are also very good on the break, quick in transition, so that is what we expect from them."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article