Chelsea tie too tough to call for PSG coach Blanc

It is the game between the pacesetters in Spain and Arsenal which most catches the eye, however.

Arsenal will host the five-time champions on 23 February after advancing to the knockout round for the 16th successive season.

Kiev were were hit with a two-game stadium closure last month for the misbehaviour of their fans, which included racist chanting. It will be a great tie between two great teams. We must have maximum respect for Arsenal, they’re a great side and although we will have a hard task facing us, it will be a guaranteed spectacle of football.

“Barcelona are used to playing under pressure in every sense”.

The London club, which won at Olympiakos in the final game of the group stages to ensure qualification, was handed the toughest possible assignment against the titleholder in Monday’s draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

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

“There is not much we don’t know about Paris”, said Chelsea general secretary David Barnard.

So what do you think of the latest Champions League draw?

“Barca will have to be very focused and completely switched on because from now on there is no chance of rectifying any mistakes; during the group stages you still have room for error, but from now on, no”.

Meanwhile, ex-Real Madrid and Spain striker Emilio Butragueno, now a club director with the La Liga giants, admitted the draw could have been worse for Rafael Benitez’s side.

“We know what can happen if you have 10 poor minutes on a European night”.

“This is the draw we wanted”, they said.

They (Kiev) have a good side and it will be hard for us. They are growing in the competition and it will be a big challenge but we hope to be ready.

If either of these sides want Champions League football anytime soon they’ll probably have to win the Europa League. But we are improving and gaining experience in the competition.

Newcomers Gent will face Germany’s Wolfsburg.

A vengeful 5-1 defeat in Munich followed but a win at home against Dinamo and a thumping 3-0 win in Athens was enough for the Reds to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.

After Olivier Giroud’s hat-trick against Olympiacos last Wednesday propelled Arsenal out of the group stages for a 16th consecutive season, some Gunners were led to wonder whether it could finally be their year.

The Champions League draw took place earlier today and the fear could be seen on the faces of the Arsenal supporters.

Both PSG and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea are defending their respective domestic league titles this season, but Les Parisiens are leading with a 17-point margin while the Londoners are struggling on the 16th.

Also, Ten time champs, Real Madrid, will face Roma.

Arsenal have only beaten Barcelona once in their history, a 2-1 win at the Emirates in 2011 that saw a 19-year-old Jack Wilshere take centre stage as he put in a stunning performance.

Gent and Wolfsburg have never played before. So, in this phase of the Champions League there are no favourites.

But there was a notable downside as they will not be allowed any support at the first leg in Ukraine on February 24. Return legs on March 8-9 and March 15-16.