Gennaro Gattuso Remaining Confident of Champions League Qualification Despite Europa League Loss
Gennaro Gattuso remains confident his AC Milan side can qualify for next year's Champions League competition despite their slim chance of beating Arsenal in the Europa League.
His side lost 2-0 at the San Siro in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie and will travel to London to face Arsenal for the return leg on Thursday, with their chances of progressing being labelled by many as very unlikely.
Catherine Ivill/GettyImages
Speaking to SportMediaSet, Gattuso reiterated that his Milan side still have a slim chance of progressing and they will still be playing for pride. He said: "After Thursday, I heard a lot of nattering that you hear in the pub, about how we were lacking something physically, yet here we are coping right through to the 95th minute.
"We just got that game wrong against a strong Arsenal side. We've still got a 30 percent chance of going through and we're not going to London for a holiday. We need to respect our glorious shirts."
Marco Luzzani/GettyImages
However, Gattuso remains confident that even if they aren't to progress in the Europa League, he believes they can still qualify for the Champions League next season through a top four finish in Serie A.
Andre Silva's injury time winner against Genoa leaves Milan in sixth place - six points behind Lazio in fourth who currently occupy the final Champions League qualification spot - and Gattuso insisted their improving league position is encouraging him.
Marco Luzzani/GettyImages
He added: "The league table is finally looking pretty for us. Our objective is there in front of us, but we've got to take things game by game.
"I was a bit worried because we'd not lost in two and half months until Arsenal so we were afraid we might struggle after going so long without losing, but the team responded well."
Milan will need to score at least twice at the Emirates if they are to stand any chance of qualifying, however with Arsenal's attackers looking in fine form in recent weeks it looks as though Gattuso's side may need more than just the two goals.
