Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has called on the Gunners to "embrace the challenge" of staying in the Champions League when they face Monaco on 17 March.

After losing 3-1 on the home leg, Arsenal face the challenge of overcoming that deficit at Monaco.

"We know that [in the] first leg, we weren't really up for it mentally," Mertesacker said. "From the start, you could feel that and, at times, we could feel that there was a bit of a pressure and we couldn't cope with that.

"But we feel like, especially after that game, we moved on and improved a lot. That is why we are very confident that, even away from home, we can beat any team in the world."

Mertesacker added: "We are coming out of a great week with two important wins and we have a good level of confidence. During the season, we responded well at times but we have to face the truth: we have to show a different face. We need to embrace the challenge. We are quite confident at the moment and we want to put things right."

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