Arsenal will be keeping an eye on the Champions League draw this week as they discover their opponents.
The Gunners booked a spot in the last-16 of the competition after finishing in the top eight of the league standings. Only Liverpool and Barcelona had a better record than Arsenal in the initial phase of the competition, as the knockout stages prepare to enter the next round.
The past two weeks have seen the play-off round of the Champions League take centre stage. Teams that finished from ninth to 24th in the league phase went head-to-head in a two-legged play-off tie to earn the right to join Arsenal in the last-16.
Mikel Arteta and Co. will discover who they will face in the last-16 of the Champions League on Friday when the draw is completed in Nyon, Switzerland. Thanks to the way the new format of the tournament is structured, Arsenal already know that they will face one of two set teams in the next round.
The last-16 of the Champions League will see teams drawn depending on where they finished in the league phases. The top eight teams were split into pairs depending on where they finished – in Arsenal’s case, they were paired with Inter Milan who finished fourth.
Arsenal and Inter will be placed in the same pot and drawn against either Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven, who will also be in the same pot. Feyenoord defeated AC Milan in the play-offs while PSV claimed a win against Juventus over two legs.
Arsenal and Inter will then be placed on opposite sides of the draw depending on which team they are scheduled to face. Friday will also see the quarter-final draw take place, which will see the Gunners’ potential path to the final become clearer.
The draw for the quarter-final will see four pots, with two for each side of the draw. Arsenal have already been given a number for their last-16 tie (R16 4 or R16 8), which will be confirmed depending on which side of the draw they fall.
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