Champions League: Arsenal face Barcelona
I’m delighted for the fans that will get two great matches at the Parc des Princes and Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal drew Barcelona in the Champions League Last 16 on Monday morning, and Twitter was quick to stick the knife into the Gunners’ chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
Wenger also led his team to the Champions League final back in 2006, but were unable to overcome the Spanish giants, losing out once again.
However, it is the game between the pacesetters in Spain and Arsenal that most catches the eye.
“We hoped for better luck in the draw, but we’re confident we can put in two good performances”, said the former Juve star.
“Both are great clubs and they have great ambitions”. Arsenal are a team who like to have the ball and we will enjoy that. We are used to playing PSG.
So what do you think of the latest Champions League draw?
There is also a familiar feel about the Chelsea against PSG tie.
Bayern ambassador Franz Beckenbauer, speaking at the draw, said his club’s clash with Juventus would be “a mouthwatering tie”. “We are ambitious, we have 2½ months to prepare”, Olivier Létang, the PSG sports director, said.
Real Madrid and Roma have also seen a lot of each other in the competition, though not since 2008 when the Italians won 2-1 home and away in the last 16.
Barcelona, as you would expect, casually strolled into the round of 16 by topping their group with 14 points.
Emilio Butragueño, Real Madrid’s director of institutional relations: “It’s a special competition and we all know what it means and what a source of motivation it is”.
“The way we understand football is the same”.
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. They have a very good team, magnificent players and play good football.
Paris Saint-Germain will play Chelsea; Eindhoven will face Atletico Madrid, Dynamo Kyiv will play Manchester City, Gent will face Wolfsburg and finally Benfica will play Zenit St. Petersburg.
The first legs will be played on February 16-17 and 23-24, with the second legs scheduled for March 8-9 and 15-16.
Dynamo Kyiv beat Manchester City in the 2010-11 Europa League last 16, with striker Mario Balotelli sent off for the English side.