Arsenal reached the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-0 home victory over Bate Borisov, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficitBBC coverage
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Arsenal manager Unai Emery "respects" the Premier League's schedule and insists it cannot be used as an excuse as his side prepare for a Europa League last-16 tie against Rennes.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea's Maurizio Sarri have called for greater assistance for English sides competing in Europe.
But Emery, whose side contest a fifth game in 15 days, disagrees.
"The Premier League decide the schedules and we adapted," said Emery.
"It is not an excuse for us, we have the habit to play a lot of matches week by week.
"You ask me if I prefer sometimes more time to prepare for one match, then yes, but for example in this match we don't have an excuse.
"We played on Saturday, rested Sunday and started to work on Monday. Tomorrow I think we are going to be okay to play every player.
"For us, it is a very important match. We had time to prepare well, we are going to play on Sunday but we have this habit and we have the players to share and find combinations with the players who can play tomorrow with a big performance - fresh players with a big energy."
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Ramsey shows Arsenal what they will be missing
Arsenal fans unhappy with Rennes first-leg switch
Arsenal had to overturn a disappointing 1-0 first-leg deficit in the round of 32, but did so comfortably with a 3-0 home victory over Belarus side Bate Borisov.
Opponents Rennes defeated La Liga side Real Betis 3-1 in Spain to secure their place in the last 16, following an entertaining 3-3 draw at home.
The French side's former Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa did not feature under Emery at Paris St-Germain, but has found form since joining Rennes as a free agent in September.
"He is a very good player," Emery said. "He is playing with a big performance and we know they have good organisation, good players and one is Ben Arfa.
"We need to control his quality, his skills, because in the two matches they played against Betis he was playing very well. It is not only Ben Arfa, they have good defensive players, but mostly Ben Arfa is very important for them."
Rennes coach Julien Stephan heaped praise on Arsenal, describing the Gunners as "a great club, with a prestigious past and quality in every line".
"We are coming up against a high-quality side," he said. "We are happy but not overexcited. We have cool heads. There has to be focus, ambition and a lot of fun in the preparation phase. Enjoying the game is an essential aspect when we prepare for these kinds of matches."
Current Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, who retires from football at the end of the season, spent two seasons at Rennes before moving to Chelsea.
On Cech, Stephan added: "He's a great goalkeeper, a great professional, who succeeded here at Rennes despite his young age and in a very short period of time left an indelible trace.
"There is only one word to sum up his career: 'respect'. There is a lot of respect here for what he did."
Team news
Rennes have forward M'Baye Niang and defender Hamari Traore suspended for the visit of Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Gunners boss Emery has added Eddie Nketiah to the 18-man squad which travelled to Tottenham on Sunday.
The 19-year-old replaces the suspended Alexandre Lacazette, who is serving the second of a three-match ban after his first-leg red card against Bate.
The stats
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Rennes will be the 10th different French team Arsenal have faced in all European competition, with the Gunners defeating all nine French sides they've previously met.
Arsenal have never lost an away game against French opposition, winning eight of 13 games.
The last defeat they suffered in France in a competitive game came in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona.
This is the 16th successive campaign in which Arsenal have reached the last 16 of a major European competition, a run that began in 2003-04.
The Gunners reached this stage of the Champions League 14 times between 2004 and 2017, while also appearing in the Europa League last 16 last season.
Rennes will be hosting an English side for only the second time in their history, and for the first time since July 2001 when they beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the first leg of their Intertoto Cup semi-final encounter.
The French side's striker Ismalia Sarr has been directly involved in five Europa League goals this season - more than any other player in his team.
Source: bbc.com