Mikel Arteta will resist the temptation to rest his best players in the Europa League as Arsenal look to close on a first Premier League title in 19 years.

Arsenal are out of both domestic cup competitions, which has allowed them to focus on the league, where they hold a two-point lead over champions Manchester City and have a game in hand.

The distraction of the Europa League is soon to return, however, with the Gunners paired with Sporting CP in Friday's last-16 draw.

A run in UEFA's secondary club competition could hinder Arsenal's hopes of holding off City, with fans desperate to win the league for the first time since their 'Invincibles' season of 2003-04.

But Arteta will not think like that.

While the manager said Arsenal would have the opportunity to "share many more minutes around the squad", he will not leave key men at home for European games.

"We will try to pick, all the time, the team we believe is the best to win on the day," Arteta said.

"Because if you do something different people will say: 'Why did you pick this team and we didn't win in the Europa League?' You're never going to win that battle.

"We're going to pick the players that are in the best possible condition, because it's really important to win the game to be in a better condition to win the next one."

Arsenal are scheduled to visit Portugal on March 9 before welcoming Sporting to Emirates Stadium a week later.