Arsenal's reward for top-two Champions League finish as Mikel Arteta's side continue perfect run

Arsenal secured a 3-1 win over Inter Milan on Tuesday evening to ensure they will finish in the top two of the Champions League's initial phase

Arsenal are heading into the Champions League knockout stages with a significant advantage, having secured either a first or second-place finish in the standings.

The Gunners have been on a winning streak in Europe this season, triumphing in all seven of their matches in the competition so far. Their 3-1 victory over Inter Milan on Tuesday night ensures that Mikel Arteta's side can finish no lower than second in the league phase of the competition.

At present, Arsenal are leading the pack with a total of 21 points, six points ahead of Bayern Munich. Although the Bundesliga heavyweights could theoretically surpass them, as they have one game in hand over the Gunners, the conditions required for this to occur are intricate.

Not only would Bayern need to win Wednesday's match against Union Saint-Gilloise and their final league match against PSV in just over a week's time, but they would also need Arsenal to lose their own match with Kairat on the same evening. Additionally, they would need to overcome a goal difference of seven to stand any chance of overtaking the English favourites.

Real Madrid, currently in second place, are also out of contention, given they have also played seven games and hold 15 points for their efforts. The current Champions League format places a significant emphasis on league position, with the top two finishers enjoying certain advantages.

A new rule stipulates that a team's final standing can ease their path to the competition's final, particularly in terms of home advantage. For instance, teams finishing in the top four will be granted the privilege of playing the second legs of the last 16 and quarter-finals at home should they progress that far, reports the Mirror.

The top two teams will also enjoy the benefit of hosting the second leg of the semi-finals if they reach that stage. Having the opportunity to play the second leg of these crucial matches at home could prove to be a significant advantage.

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If Arsenal manage to secure an edge in the away leg, they can then leverage the robust support of their home crowd to maintain or even extend their lead.

On the other hand, if the Gunners find themselves needing to stage a comeback in the second leg, they would undoubtedly prefer to do so on familiar ground rather than in a hostile away environment.

It comes as Arsenal demonstrated formidable form at San Siro on Tuesday evening, with Arteta continuing to weave his magic both at home and away. Gabriel Jesus got the scoring underway for Arsenal just 10 minutes into their clash with Inter Milan, only for Petar Susic to equalise eight minutes later.

However, Jesus netted his second goal in the 31st minute, ensuring that Arsenal went into half-time with the upper hand. Following a closely contested second-half, it was Viktor Gyokeres who put it out of reach with just six minutes left on the clock, preserving Arsenal's unbeaten streak in Europe.

The Gunners' next challenge is a Premier League battle against Manchester United in London on Sunday, 25 January. They then welcome Kairat for their concluding league stage match in the Champions League on Wednesday, 28 January.