Arsenal handed Barcelona draw, Chelsea get PSG…again

“Arsenal are a great team and I am sure we will have difficulties against them”. There are more hard opponents, though, who luckily we won’t face [yet]. “We feel we have dodged a bullet”.

In-form Barcelona sits at the top of the Spanish league despite drawing its last two matches, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has to work out how to achieve the seemingly impossible – keeping attackers Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar quiet.

The first leg games will be played on February 16 and 17, with return legs taking place on February 23 and 24.

Last year’s beaten finalists Juventus have been handed a tricky test against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who topped Group F with 15 points, and Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City will take on Dynamo Kyiv. “The fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides with a similar understanding of the game”, he said.

Also, five-time champion Bayern Munich will play away first against 2015 runner-up Juventus, while record 10-time champion Real Madrid will face AS Roma.

Blanc was speaking before PSG begin their defence of the French League Cup with a last 16 tie at home to Saint-Etienne on Wednesday.

“We were hoping for a good draw today and it’s probably the tie of the round”, Miles said.

“I hope we can take advantage of this situation, but in the Champions League you never know what is going to happen”.

Real Madrid and Roma have also seen a lot of each other in the competition, though not since 2008 when the Italians won 201 home and away in the last 16.

“They are a strong side, but they like to play football and it is just 11 vs 11”.

Former Juve star Pavel Nedved, who helped them reach the 2003 final where they lost to AC Milan on penalties, also tried to stay optimistic despite landing one of the tournament favourites.

Still, there was one fresh look in the eight pairings as the two newcomers to the knockout rounds were drawn together: Gent will host VfL Wolfsburg first in Belgium. Although Mourinho will know the player very well, Di Maria is the biggest difference to what Chelsea will have to deal with come February.