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Arsenal face holders Barcelona in last 16 of Champions League
Posted On Dec 14 2015
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Other high-profile ties see struggling Premier League victor Chelsea take on French champion Paris Saint-Germain and last year’s runner up Juventus play German champion Bayern Munich.
The pair contested the 2006 Champions League final, which Barcelona won 2-1.
Such is Chelsea’s luck in the Champions League draw and such is the way in which their season has turned out so far, they were inevitably given the toughest opponent from that list.
Chelsea, meanwhile, face Paris Saint-Germain for the third consecutive year, having been eliminated by the Ligue 1 champions at the quarter-final stage last season.
Manchester City, which has had its own bad luck with Champions League group stage draws, caught a break in drawing Dynamo Kiev, the runner-up to Chelsea in Group G.
There is also a familiar feel about the Chelsea versus PSG tie.
He said on BT Sport: “We are delighted to be here for the 16th successive season”.
It would not turn out to be the draw they were hoping for.
Arsenal have only won once against Barcelona, defeating them 2-1 at the Emirates in a round-of-16 fixture in 2010/11. Manchester City were drawn against Ukrainian opposition Dynamo Kiev, which will host City in the reverse leg in an empty stadium as punishment for previous crowd disturbances and racist behavior among Dynamo supporters, according to Sky Sports.
Gent were seen as the most favourable draw, and Manchester United fans will be particularly gutted, as they were pipped to the knockout stages by Vfl Wolfsburg.
The first legs of the ties are spread over four days in February, with the returns on March 8, 9 and 15, when there are two matches. “Juve were runners-up last season which represents a major challenge, but we want to reach the quarters and will do everything we can”. We hope to have all our players available to ensure the show is a good one.
Second legs to be played March 8/9 and 15/16. The new Champions League rules that mean only reigning champions are seeded have militated against Arsenal.
