Last season, Blanc’s side eked out 1-1 and 2-2 draws to seal an aggregate win on away goals, following a quite similiar but vise-versa result from the 2013-2014 season in the quarter-finals where PSG won 3-1 at home but lost 2-0 away.
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Also, five-time champion Bayern Munich will play away first against 2015 runner-up Juventus, while record 10-time champion Real Madrid will face Roma.
Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva believes Chelsea will be more unsafe in the Champions League as the club looks to salvage something from its horrendous season thus far.
And Manchester City will play Dynamo Kiev, with the Ukrainian leg played behind closed doors. “If you know a little about football, today PSG is the favorite to advance to the quarterfinals, and that is a great responsibility”, he said after the draw when asked if Chelsea would pose a more potent threat given the club’s woes.
While the Gunners gave the Spanish giants a run for their money in the 2006 Champions League final, more recent clashes have been straightforward for the Catalans.
The Premier League’s elite have a break from European duty until the new year though, with league matters demanding their attention.
“It is an attractive tie, Arsenal are a good team with magnificent players and they play really good football”. “There is not much we don’t know about Paris”, said Chelsea general secretary David Barnard, whose side were beaten by PSG at the same stage a year ago.
Bayern beat the Italian champion Juventus in the quarterfinals when it last won the trophy three seasons ago.
“I think it doesn’t mean nothing because you have to be in shape when the Champions League games come”, he said.
Fernandez believes it will be an open tie but admits he is very happy to avoid last season’s runners-up Juventus and Ligue 1 champs PSG.
Louis van Gaal’s men, eliminated from the Champions League last week, were handed the tie in the draw for the last 32 of the second-tier competition at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.
They have a very good team, magnificent players and play good football. “We need to analyse it”, Blanc added.
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.
Zenit, who boast the third highest scorer in the group phase in Artem Dzyuba, tackle Portuguese side Benfica, while Atletico Madrid have been drawn against PSV and Wolfsburg clash with Gent.
Manchester United was paired with Danish team Midtjylland which takes part in the competition for the first time.
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Valencia v Rapid Wien.
