- Share
Arsenal draw Barca in quarter-finals
Arsenal and Barcelona will meet for the first time since the 2006 Champions League final after they were paired together in the quarter-finals.
• Champions League draw in full
• Hackett: Friends reunited
• Discuss this on our forums
The second leg of the last-eight clash will come just days before Barca face their crucial clasico showdown with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. It's a week which may well decide their season. And Arsenal will play the north London derby at Tottenham the same weekend of April 10, too.
The first leg will be at the Emirates, and the return leg will see Francesc Fabregas return to his former club for the first time.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was quick to make his side the underdogs and said: "If you go to the bookmakers and try to place a few pounds, you will see that we are not favourites against Barcelona. Of course they are a good side, but so are we.
"For me, we have a 50/50 game - if we turn up with our best performance we have a good chance to beat them. It will be an interesting, exciting game. We have to make sure we have the belief and focus right."
Barcelona sporting director Txiki Beguiristain said: "It's a great tie. We are two teams who don't shut up shop and play long ball football, and this tie will be nice for the fans.
"It will be a good spectacle and we'll see if we are a little stronger than them. In any case, the best news is knowing that we will be playing the return leg at home. We are strong at home and we've shown that.
"Cesc returns to the Nou Camp but Thierry Henry will also face his former team and that makes it even more interesting."
Manchester United will take on Bayern Munich, who they famously beat in the final at Camp Nou in 1999. That is the only time United have ever beaten the Bundesliga side. Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted to have home advantage in the second leg.
Reflecting on the draw, Ferguson said: "The history of playing Bayern in past European ties tells you it's going to be a very difficult tie for us. It'll be a fantastic atmosphere in both games. They have a great stadium and good pitch and we're up against a good, experienced team.
"Hopefully we'll have everyone we need for the game and we've got a good chance.''
Former United striker Dwight Yorke, who played in the final in 1999, told Sky Sports News: "I'm worried about the Germans, over the years they've been very difficult to play against.
"They've got a very experienced manager in Louis van Gaal, he's been around the block, he knows how European football is, he knows about English football and will certainly know about Manchester United and Wayne Rooney."
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge labelled the tie a "tough but attractive draw'', although he admits United will be expected to go through to the last four.
"Manchester are a team who are ranked right at the top,'' he said on his club's website. "We will have to push ourselves to our limits and possibly even beyond to go through. Manchester are the favourites, but that is where the attraction lies: to try to beat a favourite.''
There is an all-French clash as Ligue 1 leaders Bordeaux take on Lyon. They will play each other three times in quick succession with a league match scheduled for April 17. The second leg is in Bordeaux.
Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud admits he is somewhat disappointing to be facing a fellow French team but is delighted it will ensure a Ligue 1 outfit is in the semi-finals.
"I'm a little bit disappointed,'' he told Eurosport. "But we have to take what we take and we just have to get on with it and deal with it. It's going to be a great night and means there will be a French team in the semi-finals and that's something for French football to celebrate.
"If both clubs play to their potential it's going to be a great night not just for our fans but also for football fans around the world.''
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, whose team triumphed over Real Madrid in the last round, is looking forward to another magical European night.
"It will be a very special night for us,'' he told Eurosport. "I think we've played in the final of the Intertoto against another French team but that doesn't really count.
"This is the Champions League, an entirely different night. We did think it could happen, we were hoping it wouldn't. Now we have to hope we qualify but we are going to see a French team in the semi-finals and let's hope we see one in the final.''
Inter Milan's reward for knocking out Chelsea is a quarter-final against CSKA Moscow, with either Barcelona or Arsenal waiting if Jose Mourinho's South American-inspired team get past that hurdle.
Former Inter player Luis Figo said: "You cannot pick and choose at this stage, but logically it's better if you manage to avoid sides like Barcelona and Manchester United."
The quarter-finals take place on March 30 and 31 plus April 6 and 7. The semi-finals are scheduled for April 20 and 21 and April 27 and 28, with the final in the Bernabeu, Madrid, on Saturday, May 22.
The winners of the Lyon-Bordeaux tie will be at home in the second leg in a semi-final match against United or Bayern, which means there is the prospect of an intriguing last-four date between Barcelona and Inter. They met in the group stage, with a 1-1 draw in the San Siro and Barca winning the return 2-0.
Home advantage in the second leg also falls to the winners of the tie between Arsenal and Barcelona.
