Wednesday 23 November 2016 22:47, UK
Arsenal can win their Champions League group with victory over Paris Saint-Germain - in the latest of Sky Sports' data features in partnership with HPE, we show why that can boost their overall chances of success.
The Gunners have been knocked out at the last-16 stage of the competition in each of the last six seasons. In five of those years, they faced knockout ties against group winners after finishing runners-up in their pool.
It's an outcome Arsene Wenger will be keen to avoid this time around and, thanks to a draw in Paris earlier this season, they can seal top spot in Group A with a win over Unai Emery's visitors at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
A Sky Sports study into Champions League finalists since 2003/04 - when the competition took on its current format - highlights the importance of a good group-stage performance.
Ten out of 13 Champions League winners in that time have won their pool. In fact, 21 of 26 finalists topped their group, as did 40 out of 52 semi-finalists.
It's a compelling trend which highlights the importance of coming out on top of the round-robin phase.
Arsenal's best run in the competition in 2005/06, where they lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the final, came after they had won their group. Liverpool (2007), Chelsea (2008, 2012) and Manchester United (2008, 2009, 2011) also launched their charges to the final on the back of group-stage success.
Jose Mourinho's 2004 winners Porto, Liverpool's Istanbul heroes of 2005 and Mourinho's treble-winning Inter Milan in 2010 are the only second-placed teams to go on to win the competition in its current guise.
In a rare quirk, Inter's final win came over Bayern Munich, who had also finished second in their pool.
But last season both finalists, Atletico Madrid and winners Real Madrid, had won their group and with Arsenal well placed to achieve that feat this term, there's every reason for the Premier League club to press home their advantage and capitalise on their good group-stage performances so far.
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