Barcelona eliminated Arsenal in the 2010 quarterfinals and in the round of 16 in 2011, and beat the English club in the 2006 final.
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And yesterday’s last-16 draw punished them in the most severe fashion by pairing them with the club everyone wanted to avoid – holders Barcelona.
They were knocked out in the last eight of the Champions League by Barcelona who went on to win the title at the expense of Juventus.
“Football fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides that play similar styles with a similar understanding of the game”. We provide three reasons why Arsene and Arsenal could well provide a great upset against the Catalan giants in the UEFA Champions League.
“This is a team that we know very well because we played them at this stage last season and we went out on the away goals rule”.
“There is not much we don’t know about Paris”, said Chelsea general secretary David Barnard.
Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven, the two sides that qualified at Manchester United’s expense, were paired with Ghent and Atletico Madrid respectively.
After failing to capitalise on a seemingly kind draw against Monaco at the same stage of the competition last season, Arsenal were handed a glamour tie against an all-firing Barcelona fronted by fearsome trio Messi, Neymar and Suarez.
The Champions League draw took place earlier today and the fear could be seen on the faces of the Arsenal supporters.
Let’s say the conclusion to the two-legged tie is what most people expect it to be – a comfortable win for the best team in the world.
For me, it’s a great to be able to test ourselves against a team like Real Madrid.
That is exactly what has happened, with them drawing last year’s winners Barcelona and few people anticipating them to progress.
Regardless of the empty terraces, City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain warned of any complacency. “We are improving and gaining experience in the competition so we hope to do well”.
Here is the full Champions League draw, which will see 16 top European clubs vying against each other come February.
But the big game is, once again, Arsenal against Barcelona, and that old story of how Arsenal beat a club who have long had the upper hand over them, on and off the pitch.
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Liverpool may be happier with their draw, with Augsburg now 13th in the Bundesliga, while Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp will undoubtedly relish facing opposition from his homeland.
