It was only four days ago, Arsenal star Mathieu Flamini admitted, they don’t want to face Barcelona in the Champions League last 16, but the worst fear came true. Wenger’s men will go head to head with La Liga giants Barcelona. Having twice been eliminated by Lionel Messi and his teammates in two thrilling 2010 and 2011 ties, it was quite clear Barcelona are the only side who Arsenal want to avoid. The clash will also be a repeat of the 2006 final, which the Spanish champions eventually won by 2-1 thanks to two late goals in Paris. However, Arsenal have faced the defending European champions seven times, winning only once, at the Emirates Stadium in 2011 while Barca have won four of their meetings.

Barca claimed the coveted European glory for a fifth time after seeing off Juventus 3-1 in June’s final, as Luis Enrique’s charges completed with a memorable Treble. On the other hand, Arsenal reached this season’s knockout stage after achieving a 3-0 victory at Olympiakos in the final group clash to finish second, behind Bayern Munich.

The Gunners have also been ousted in the first knockout round in each of the last five campaigns, a scenario partially caused by their failure to finish at the top of a Champions League group since 2011.

How arsenal fans reacted in Twitter, check out the hilarious reactions.

 

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