As Arsenal prepare for a make or break Champions League tie tonight against the mighty Bayern Munich, the Gunners seem to be quietly building momentum in the Premier League.
Sitting second to Manchester City on the back of consecutive 3-0 wins over Manchester United and Watford, momentum and avoiding injuries is key.
But could crashing out of Europe early this season actually boost their Premier League title hunt by reducing fixture congestion and allowing the Gunners to focus on one main goal?
Former Ireland and Chelsea defender Paddy Mulligan does not believe so as he explained on the Rewind podcast.
"Sometimes fighting on one front doesn't suit Arsenal. I would always be of the opinion that stay in every competition for as long as you can, build up the confidence because if you keep winning games, it's a wonderful confidence boost. And also you're training less and playing more games and that's what players really like to do. Go and play the games, forget about the training. You've put in all your hard graft in July with your pre-season. That should set you up for the season and then go from there. Get your game-time and you could be in business. I wouldn't see [exiting Europe] for Arsenal being the way to go because they're the type of team that can even fall away in the Premier League," he said.
Paddy was speaking on the Rewind podcast:
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