Arsenal snapped a four-game losing streak last week in the San Siro against AC Milan.
The Gunners beat the Italian giants 2-0 on the road much to the surprise of most Arsenal fans.
The victory came as a shock and it is remarkable just how quickly public opinion has shifted in favor of the team and head coach Arsene Wenger.
The North London based outfit followed up their Milan victory with a convincing 3-0 win against Watford.
Mesut Ozil was the star of the show, providing two assists against AC Milan and then his 50th Arsenal assist against Watford.
Ozil will be up against AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu who shares a few similarities with the 2014 World Cup winner.
Ozil and Calhanoglu are both ethnic Turks born in Germany.
Calhanoglu opted to represent Turkey while Ozil plays for his country of birth.
The Turkey international has made no secret of the fact he wants to be to Turkey what Ozil is to Germany.
“It’s thanks to the Germans that I became a footballer,” he told the Milliyet newspaper in 2012 regarding his decision to play for the Crescent Stars. “But playing for the Turkish national team is an honour. I want to be Turkey’s Mesut Ozil.”
Calhanoglu will be the player AC Milan look to for a moment of magic. He forgot his wand in the first-leg but the Gunners cannot afford to leave him space as he has all the tools to make any opposition pay.
Arsenal team news
David Ospina is likely to keep his place in goal as the Gunners European competition keeper.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup-tied, Santi Cazorla is injured and Alexandre Lacazette is not yet match fit.
Arsene Wenger did deliver good news on the injury front as Hector Bellerin, Aaron Ramsey and Nacho Monreal all returned to training.
All three players are likely to be match fit and feature.
AC Milan team news
Milan are expected to field a similar side to last week with only Andrea Conti and veteran defender Ignazio Abate out injured.
Patrick Cutrone struggled against the Gunners last week and could make way for Andre Silva instead.
Silva scored the winner for Milan at the weekend against Genoa and has 8 goals in the Europa League this season.
Prediction
Arsenal showed what they are capable of when they get their act together in the first leg. The gulf in quality was greater than I expected. AC Milan’s 13 match unbeaten run ended up being pretty misleading. The Italians struggled to put the Gunners under any kind of sustained pressure and could have lost by a more dramatic scoreline. The Rossoneri are going to have to raise their game. Calhanoglu will have to be at his best from set-pieces as this is the only angle I see the visitors beating Arsenal. The Europa League is all Arsenal have got left to play for this season. As is so often the case with the North London based outfit they go on a miraculous run just when they look as if they are going to implode.
Prediction: Arsenal Win
