Arsenal vs. Barca
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Kick off: 8:45pm
Arsenal welcome European champions, Barcelona, to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night (today) as they look to upset the odds and end their Champions League last 16 hoodoo with victory in the first leg.
The Gunners have been eliminated at this stage of the competition in each of the last five seasons, while Barca are bidding to become the first team to successfully defend Europe’s premier competition since AC Milan in 1990.
There will have been a collective groan around the red half of North London when the draw for the last 16 was made and Barcelona came out of the hat to face Arsenal.
The Gunners had already made hard work of their passage into the knockout stages, progressing from Group F by the skin of their teeth to reach the latter stages of the competition for the 16th consecutive season.
Things do look a little better in the Premier League now, though, with the fit-again Danny Welbeck having marked his first appearance of the season with the winning goal against title rivals Leicester City to close the gap at the top of the table to just two points.
It is fair to say that Barcelona will bring with them a tougher test than anything the Gunners currently face in the Premier League, though, and with Manchester United to come at the weekend and a North London derby with Tottenham Hotspur also on the horizon, it promises to be a big couple of weeks for Arsenal.
This is a competition that has belonged to Barcelona in recent years, with this season marking the 10-year anniversary from when their period of dominance started.
The victory over Arsenal in the 2006 final was the second time that they had been crowned European champions, and over the past decade they have earned that accolade on four occasions – no other team has won it more than once in that time.
However, back-to-back victories have so far eluded the various incarnations of the club, and indeed any club since the Champions League took over from the European Cup.
It is a slice of history that looks destined to be broken this term, with Barcelona not only establishing themselves as the best side in the world under Luis Enrique, but arguably putting themselves amongst the greatest teams to have ever graced the game.
Their ongoing 32-match unbeaten streak is a club record, surpassing the mark set by Pep Guardiola’s side, with 26 wins, 98 goals and 16 clean sheets since their last defeat at the start of October.
Certainly, their front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar are comparable in potency to any frontline down the years, with the deadly trio having already combined for 91 goals and a further 43 assists this season; Arsenal’s entire squad have managed just 61 goals between them.
They have also made it to at least the semi-finals of this competition in seven of the last eight seasons and have scored in each of their last 19 Champions League outings, winning 15 of those.
Arsenal possible starting lineup: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud.
Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen, Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Suarez, Neymar.