Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has called on his side to earn the point required at PSV Eindhoven on Thursday to finish top of Europa League Group A.
But Arteta wants to avoid facing a play-off against one of the sides knocked out of the Champions League.
"Last week we made the first step which was to qualify for the next round. We need to win [on Thursday] because we want to finish first," he said.
Barcelona, Ajax and Atletico Madrid are among the clubs dropping into the Europa League in the new year.