Source: Daily_Mail
Champions League draw: Arsenal blow as Arsene Wenger's side land Barcelona
Champions League last 16 Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk [LNB]AC Milan v Tottenham [LNB]Valencia v Schalke [LNB]Inter Milan v Bayern Munich [LNB]Lyon v Real Madrid [LNB]Arsenal v Barcelona [LNB]Marseille v Manchester United [LNB]Copenhagen v Chelsea[LNB]1st-leg ties February 15/16 & 22/23[LNB]2nd-leg ties March 8/9 & 15/16[LNB]Arsene Wenger's worst fears were realised in Nyon this morning as his Arsenal side were drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.[LNB]The Gunners drew 2-2 at home with the Catalan giants in last season's quarter-finals before crashing 4-1 in the return leg. [LNB]Tottenham will travel back to the San Siro after being paired with AC Milan.[LNB]Spurs topped their group ahead of Inter Milan after a thrilling 4-3 defeat in Italy and a win at White Hart Lane.[LNB]Manchester United will take on French side Marseille while Chelsea are up against Danish outfit FC Copenhagen.[LNB]Wenger accepts Arsenal go into the mouth-watering clash as underdogs but refuses to rule out shocking Pep Guardiola's superstars.[LNB]'My reaction is very simple - difficult but possible,' he told his club's website. 'I didn't want anybody really, in that all teams would have been difficult. You could have said that Schalke - a team with less history in the Champions League - would have been easier maybe. But the advantage is that we will be on our toes and we'll be ready.[LNB]'Revenge is not on my mind. We want to qualify and we want to knock them out. So is it difficult? Yes. Is it possible? Yes.[LNB]'Barcelona are certainly the favourites (for the competition) and a famous team but, on their side, they did not want us either because they know they will get a game.[LNB]'I think we are better than last year and we have a good opportunity to show that. I won't come out on (how we will make it a different game). What is on my mind right now is Stoke (on Saturday) more than Barcelona.[LNB]'We are in the middle of December and we play at the end of February. So there is a long way to go.'It is too early to speak about this game. You can just speak about the draw. The whole context might be completely different in two months. We don't know what we will do and how we will feel.[LNB]Unstoppable: Barcelona playmaker Messi scores his fourth goal of the game against Arsenal last season[LNB]'But the best way of going into that game with confidence is down to what we do from today until then. If we do well in the League, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup that will give us the best chance of knocking them out.'[LNB]Arsenal faced the possibility of playing Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Schalke or Barca after finishing second in their group.[LNB]Wenger's men were cruising after three straight wins but back-to-back defeats against Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga allowed the Ukrainians to finish top.[LNB]It will be another emotional return home for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, who left the Nou Camp as teenager in 2003. The Primera Liga champions are desperate for him to return full-time but so far Wenger has managed to fight them off.[LNB]Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said: 'Obviously there will be a lot of talk about Cesc until the tie starts. That's logical.[LNB]'He's a player who learnt his trade at Barca and for him it will be a very special game.[LNB] Remember me: Fabregas scores a penalty against Barcelona during last season's draw at the Emirates[LNB]'He will be able to come up against his Spain team-mates and play in the Nou Camp with Barcelona as a rival, which he couldn't do last season.'[LNB]Lionel Messi smashed four goals past Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia last season at the Nou Camp to seal a 6-3 aggregate win.[LNB]While it was not great news for Wenger, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is relishing the chance to take on Italian giants AC Milan.[LNB]Redknapp said: 'It's a great draw. Whoever you draw is going to be tough but it's an exciting game to play, to look forward to. I mean AC Milan, they've won, what, seven or eight titles and are leading Serie A. They're the top team in Italy with great players. It's a fantastic game to look forward to.[LNB]'We look forward to it. It's a great challenge for us. They've got some real quality fantastic players [LNB]'Isaid before I wouldn't mind playing them. You want to play the top teams in the world, so it's a great chance to bring them to White Hart Lane for a great game, hopefully.'[LNB]Spurswere the highest scorers in the group stage with 18 goals from their six matches while Manchester United can boast the meanest defence.[LNB] Same again please: Spurs' Welsh flyer Gareth Bale (right) terrorised Inter Milan in the group games [LNB]The Red Devils topped Group C ahead of Valencia, Scottish champions Rangers and Turks Bursaspor and conceded their only goal in the final match - a 1-1 draw against the Spaniards at Old Trafford.[LNB]Opponents Marseille, who finished behind Chelsea in their group, will know what to expect from their last-16 tie as former United defender Gabriel Heinze is plying his trade with the Mediterranean giants.[LNB]Sir Alex Ferguson insisted Marseille will be a handful, especially at their own ground.[LNB]The United boss told MUTV: 'Everyone thought we might get one of the Milan sides because we've faced them quite a few times in the last few years, but we got Marseille in the draw rehearsal and it proved right.[LNB]'Marseille are a handful at their ownground, their fantastic atmosphere and incredible support guarantees that. They've had a good change in fortunes in the last two or three years, after a dry spell, and think it'll be a difficult tie.[LNB]'Didier Deschamps is the coach there, and they've got one of our old players in Gabriel Heinze so it'll be nice to see him.'[LNB]United played Marseille in the 1999/2000 tournament, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford and losing 1-0 in France.[LNB]United defender Rio Ferdinand, who will come up against former team-mate Gabriel Heinze, said: 'It will be a hard place to go. You are talking about passionate fans in a big stadium. I went there with England in the 1998 World Cup, so I know it will be tough.[LNB] Familiar face: Heinze (left) called time on his United career in 2007 and had a spell at Real Madrid before France[LNB]'We have come across French teams a fair bit. They have always been tough games and never with loads of goals. I don't expect this will be much different.[LNB]'But this is the knockout stage and where you earn your pennies. It is not a league situation. There is no chance to make up ground. We have to be right on the day.'[LNB]Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay insisted there would be no complacency against Copenhagen.[LNB]Gourlay said: 'There's no easy games at this stage and we'll be very careful. They've played 10 games so far in the Champions League with qualifying, and were second to Barcelona, so they're a very, very good side and well clear in their domestic league.'[LNB]Gourlay insisted that Chelsea are improving despite their poor recent run of one win in seven games.[LNB]He told the club's website: 'Last week the signs were there that we are picking up again and we've got some of our key players back, which is very important to us and we're looking forward to the game (against Manchester United) on Sunday.[LNB]'Things had been going very well, confidence was high and then we lost three or four of our key players and hit some bad results.[LNB]In it to win it: Inter Milan manager Benitez [LNB]'This game has probably come at the right time for us. The guys will be looking forward to it, the fans willbe looking forward to it and it's a good game to get ourselves back on the rails.'[LNB]Copenhagen are the first Danish side to reach the last 16 of the Champions League but coach Sol Solbakken has acknowledged that his side will be at a severe disadvantage with their tie against Chelsea taking place during the Danish League's winter break, which runs until March.[LNB]Solbakken said: 'That's the biggest disadvantage,' he said. 'We have played in Europe during this time previously. We played Marseille last year (in the Europa League) and we matched them for 60-70 minutes in both games but then we struggled as wehad only played practice games and we struggled to keep up with the tempo.'[LNB]But Solbakken is not writing off Copenhagen's chances of pulling off a major upset against Carlo Ancelotti's side, particularly if they can perform well with home advantage in the first leg.[LNB]'We have not been beaten at home in the Champions League and we have played Barcelona and Manchester United,' he added. 'Our best chance is to play out of our skins to keep the second game interesting. [LNB]'Football is football and anything can happen, no-one thought we could come this far. It's very difficult for us but we are looking forward to playing a great team with a great history and it's good to have the first game at home.'[LNB]Bookies rate Copenhagen as 250/1 outsiders to lift the trophy at Wembley in May while Barcelona lead the market at 9/4.[LNB]Inter are expecting a Bayern backlash when they meet after the Nerazzurri got the better of the German champions in last season's final.[LNB]Inter president Massimo Moratti said: 'It's an interesting draw. For them it will be a way to avenge that defeat.[LNB]'We have faced Bayern many times and it is an historic showdown but it's early days to make a judgement. We will have to wait and see in which conditions physically and psychologically both teams arrive to the games.'[LNB]Inter coach Rafael Benitez added: 'I think it will be interesting for the fans and for the stars that experienced the final in Madrid. Bayern Munich are a fantastic team, led by a great coach.'[LNB]
