Arsenal hope to turn tables on Barcelona in Champions League
Arsenal and Chelsea face familiar foes in the Champions League after they were once again drawn against their European nemeses Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsene Wenger’s men were well beaten by Barcelona, 6-3 and 5-2 on aggregate, in 2010 and 2011 respectively, while they also lost to them in the 2006 final in Paris.
Serie A champion Juventus, defeated by Barcelona in last year’s final, will meet Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, while Manchester City faces Dynamo Kyiv.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed nightmare draws in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Champions League draw took place earlier today and the fear could be seen on the faces of the Arsenal supporters.
“We have a few injured players, so if we can get those back and play them with a full-strength Arsenal side we’ve got some world-class players of our own and I’m hoping we’ll put on a very good show in the two legs”.
“The only guarantee we have is that we’ll have two great teams playing two great games”. The advantage is that we know each other well, but they also know us.
If the French champions want to be considered as one of Europe’s elite clubs, this is a fixture they need to win, and perhaps, without the aid of away goals.
“There is not much we don’t know about Paris“, said Chelsea general secretary David Barnard.
Also, it was: PSV Eindhoven vs Atletico Madrid; Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester City; and Benfica vs Zenit St Petersburg.
The Gunners were pitted against Barca in Monday’s draw, with the first leg at the Emirates Stadium due to be played on February 23 and the return game at the Camp Nou on March 16.
PSG defender Thiago Silva expects Jose Mourinho’s side to prove harder opponents than they were previous year, despite their domestic struggles.
Meanwhile, ex-Real Madrid and Spain striker Emilio Butragueno, now a club director with the La Liga giants, admitted the draw could have been worse for Rafael Benitez’s side.
“Arsenal and Barca have a very similar system of play”.
“They are a strong side, but they like to play football and it is just 11 v 11”.
Rudi Garcia, Roma manager: “Real Madrid will be favourites”.
Gent and Wolfsburg have never played before.
The prize for their gallant comeback in the Champions League group stage?
