Arsenal draws Barcelona in Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc refuses to see his side as favourites to beat Chelsea in their Champions League last 16 tie despite the contrasting form of the two teams.

But Barcelona director Albert Soler said the title-holders had plenty of respect for the Gunners, who the Spaniards also beat 2-1 in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris.

PSV Eindhoven will take on Atletico Madrid, Dynamo Kiev will play Manchester City and Benfica will be against Zenit St Petersburg.

Arsenal have been drawn against the European champions Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. “The fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides with a similar understanding of the game”, he said. “Chelsea were playing wonderfully well last season, PSG have already won the French league – they must be 17 points clear now and it’s not even Christmas”, Wilkins was quoted saying in the Daily Mirror.

Thiago Silva scored last season as PSG knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League.

Wolfsburg, who dumped out Manchester United to reach the knockout phase for the first time, will meet competition debutants Gent from Belgium.

The last-16 encounter, which will be played over two legs (Feb 23 at the Emirates Stadium and March 16 at the Nou Camp), will also reopen some old wounds at the London club.

Arsenal weren’t given a chance of making it through their Champions League group after their first two losses but the team did defeat Bayern at home.

“We were in a very complicated group and we did very well to come through it without too much difficulty. They have a similar football philosophy to ours, they like to attack and to have the ball”.

“It is a very good rival, but we can dream about going to the quarterfinals like we did a year ago”, he added. “We are improving and gaining experience in the competition so we hope to do well”. The Gunners will be hoping to end a five-year losing streak at the last-16 stage.

Chelsea emerged victorious against the Parisians in the quarter-finals a year earlier but Jose Mourinho’s squad are beset by domestic struggles in 2015-16.

The Europa League may appear underwhelming but is important in maintaining English football’s coefficient-the system used by UEFA to determine the number of Champions League places allocated to each nation. “It will be vital to get a good result away from home in the first leg so we can be more relaxed when we play them at home”.