Arsenal captain Fabregas remaining calm over CL progression

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas said now is a good time for his team to relax after they booked their place in the next phase of the European Champions League.

The Gunners overcame a shaky start to dispose of Belgian club Standard Liege 2-0 at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night and now their place in the round of 16 is wrapped up, Fabregas believes it is a great opportunity for some fringe players to gain some Champions League experience.

"It's really good for the team because we still have a game to go and we can relax a little and give some rest to some players, and make sure that some of the players who don't play too much can get a game,” the Spaniard told Sky Sports Xtra.

Fabregas said it wasn’t an easy encounter against a determined Liege outfit but commended his teammates for fighting hard to gain the ascendency and eventually win the contest.

"It didn't go our way but we kept going, we believed and we were positive,” he added. "We did not feel it was done, but for sure we felt more.

"We just tried to be professional because we knew sometimes it can happen that the other team gets frustrated and you receive some bad kicks.

"We just tried to play our football and that's what we did."