Arsenal completed a second leg comeback against BATE Borisov to progress to the last-16 of the Europa League.
After winning 3-1 on aggregate, Unai Emery’s men drew French team Rennes as their opponents for the last-16 clash.
13 - Arsenal have never lost a European away game against French opposition (W8 D5), winning on seven of their last eight trips across all competitions. Channel. pic.twitter.com/9mhYdWay0o
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 22, 2019
A particular statistic provides a sigh of relief to Arsenal fans. The London-based club have never lost away to a French team in a European competition.
Of the 13 games that they have played, Arsenal have won eight and drawn five games against a French opposition.
The last time they faced a team from Ligue 1 in Europe, Arsenal drew 1-1 against Paris Saint-Germain in the group stages pf the 2015/16 Champions League.
A notable recent result includes a 2-0 win over Monaco in the round of 16 of the 2014/15 Champions League. This result followed a 3-1 defeat at Emirates Stadium and the Gunners were eliminated on away goals.
In the season before, Arsenal defeated Marseille 2-1 at Orange Velodrome in the group stages of the Champions League. This was again a replica of their win over Montpellier in the Group stages of the 2012/13 season.
If stats and history are anything to go by, the Gunners don’t have much to worry about against Rennes, as long as they don’t complicate things at Emirates Stadium.