Following the Champions League last 16 draw, Blanc was quoted on www.psg.fr as saying: “We can not wait to be there, even if we know that this is still a bit far, in February”.
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Barcelona, as you would expect, casually strolled into the round of 16 by topping their group with 14 points.
However, they are up against it to make it to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
Barcelona will play Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, ten years after the sides faced each other in the final, following today’s draw for the first knockout stage. “The fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides with a similar understanding of the game”, Soler told UEFA.com.
The matches take place over two legs with the group-winning teams away from home first.
Arsenal can also look back to their victory over Bayern Munich in the group stage for inspiration, although the 5-1 defeat in the reverse fixture in Munich will not live fondly in the Arsenal archives.
Bayern ambassador Franz Beckenbauer, speaking at the draw, said his club’s clash with Juventus would be “a mouthwatering tie”.
The new Champions League rules that mean only reigning champions are seeded have militated against Arsenal.
“There is not much we don’t know about Paris”, Chelsea secretary David Barnard said.
They will feel the draw has gone against them again, with Wolfsburg, conquerors of Manchester United, their preferred opponent.
Barcelona have a good recent record over the Gunners, who qualified for the knockout stages with an emphatic 3-0 win over Olympiacos last week, after beating them over two legs in 2009/10 and 2010/11, as well as the final in 2006. I’m sure we’ll have some problems playing against them, so let’s wait and see.
Bayern beat the Italian champion Juventus in the quarterfinals when it last won the trophy three seasons ago.
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The Gunners are a talented team and will be given the respect they are due by Barca, but in principle, being paired with them is not the most complicated of the draws that the Champions League holders could have been handed. The return legs are on March 8, 9, 15 and 16.
