Rennes coach Julien Stephen says Hatem Ben Arfa is primed for their Europa League showdown against Arsenal.

Last month Ben Arfa launched a £7m lawsuit against PSG for loss of earnings, claiming he was systematically frozen out by Gunners boss Unai Emery for 15 months and that the club's treatment amounted to “discrimination and harassment in the workplace."

Stephan backed the France international to channel any lingering resentment on Thursday evening, saying: “Hatem has a lot of experience and is capable of managing all that in a very intelligent way.

"We haven't even talked about it – we have a lot of other things to talk about.

“This is Rennes against Arsenal, not Hatem Ben Arfa against Unai Emery. It's two clubs going head-to-head.

“There are a lot of champions on both teams and champions are always ready for these occasions, so I'm sure he will put in a big performance."