The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League has been made, and there are some delightful matches drawn. Arsenal will play Barcelona – two of the most attractive to watch teams in the world. Manchester United will play Bayern Munich – as a repeat of that great 1999 Champions League Final. Lyon will play Bordeaux, which ensures that a French team will make it to the semi-final, and last but not least, Inter Milan will play CSKA Moscow.
In the semi-final, the winner of Arsenal versus Barcelona will play the winner of Inter Milan against CKSA Moscow. And the winner of Manchester United versus Bayern Munich will play the winner of Lyon against Bordeaux.
This means that if Manchester United wins both matches, Sir Alex Ferguson could face either Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan or a repeat of last year’s final with Barcelona. Or, of course, Arsenal or CSKA Moscow could make it to the final too if they can win both of their matches.
The quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League will be played over two legs on March 30-31 and April 6-7. The semi-finals of the Champions League will be played over two legs on April 20-21 and April 27-28.
What’s your reaction to the draw? Are you pleased with the opposition your team will be facing? If you’re a neutral, do you think the quarter-final draw will be exciting to watch? What storylines will you be interested in? Click the comments link below to share your opinion.
whoa !!!, Arsenal through to semi finals. barca. cannot take on Arsenal.
Beware Arsenal Barca has won before and will do again
Only if arsenal will get a red card yes, Arsenal will lose, and only if the Arsenal goals will be manned by Jens, Yes Arsenal are out and if the striking force will be led by Thiery yes they are out but if it is not these, believe you me Arsenal has class and they play soccer not just footbal
wow Arsenal this is the time to revenge…Gunners final straight and no one can stop us even the guy call messi
who can say me all teams
That path that Arsenal has been given is not good at all,but they can make it. I have a strategy for them.
One; If they can employ the energy that they had right from the beginning against FC Porto, yes they can
Two; the defenders should not move forward so much the way they did against Man United, the midfield and strikers need to combine so that Messi and the likes do not get spaces to run through.
Three; faster players like Theo wallcot should be used for second half for counter attacks
The draw is among the favourites.Arsenal taking on FCB is a game to watch every single minute,man u &inter have a gatepass to the semis.the french teams in the quarter are unpredictable though my favourite is lyon.the best team will win the league.lets wait and see the games
As usual Man U get the easier route to the final. I have faith in the Arsenal team, and what a way to win the cup, barca, inter and then man u in the final! Still I do get frustrated at Man U nearly always getting an easier draw.
In the past few seasons United knocked out these teams to the Final:
Barcelona
Inter
AC Milan
Arsenal
Not exactly an easy draw, is it?
Ya, but ManU never seems to get paired up against Barca or Real Madrid EVER because UEFA wants both teams to play each other in the final. Chelsea always seems to get paired with Liverpool or Barca and this year we got Inter vs ManU getting AC Milan. Chelsea in our delapidated state could have been to the next round if we had AC Milan.
“Ya, but ManU never seems to get paired up against Barca or Real Madrid”
Did you forget 2008, United beat Barca before beating Chelsea. Thank you again John Terry!
Chelsea played Barca in the quarters of 99-00, in 04-05 they had Barca in the first knockout stage and Liverpool in the semi, in 05-06 Chelsea and Liverpool were in group G and Chelsea had Barca in the first knockout stage, in 06-07 Chelsea and Barca were in group A and Chelsea played Liverpool in the semi, in 07-08 Chelsea had Liverpool in the semi, and in 08-09 Chelsea played Liverpool in the quarters and Barca in the semi.
barca wasn’t an easy draw but yes the last few years of milan, inter until this year, and the last few years of arsenal were indeed an easy draw. just because the teams have good pedigree or are good at a different date doesn’t mean that they weren’t an easy draw at the time. but yes, united’s 2007-2008 was well earned and all of that team’s plaudits are well deserved.
Good point MNUfan 1991,
The only easy draw United got in the past few years was Aresenal in the semi last year. I hope United and the Gooners get to the final so we can crush a London team’s dream of winning the big one again like in 2008. Maybe Sol Campbell will miss the spot kick this time instead of Terry.
Viva United!
THANKS
CTBlues did you forget that United had to beat Barca 2008 before beating Chelski in the final. Thank you again Mr. Terry!
After draw i think man u will go the same pool with intermilan
At last here is Arsenal’s chance to prove that age is not an issue in sports and all that matters is skill. Now that we will meet our match in skilled football, we have no excuse! barcelona is not physical thus let’s prove ourselves,
Arsenal have to win and will win
To all Man U fans, of course you have had to play hard teams previously I mean it is the champions league after all, I just feel you usually get an easier run. Being an Arsenal fan I have no issues with our draw, we just get to provde how much we deserve it if we win. If you guys win it, it will be down to an easier run to the final. I think out of all the teams that could have played Barcelona we have the kind of football that could beat them. It’s going to be a great game thats for sure. I am sure all you Man U fans out there are very excited and would have picked these matches in order to get to the final. I am looking forward to a Man U Arsenal Final as I don’t think we will lose 3 times in a season to you guys. My ultimate dream is to pip you to the premiership title and then beat you in the final of the CL! Right now, there is no reason why that couldn’t happen!
Since I am both an Arsenal and Barca fan, its a shame they were drawn together in the quarters. Would have preferred to see them both play others and make it to the final. But, since Arsenal is the underdog…. guess Ill be rooting for them.
How can you be a Arsenal and Barca fan!?!
Bye Bye Arsenal.
It would be extremely tough, but I would LOVE to see Bordeaux vs. Arsenal in the final. The passing and creativity would be amazing. I could imagine a 3-3 or 4-4 scoreline. It would be equally as amazing to see Fulham vs. Benfica in the Europa League final, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Nevertheless, I’m a little disappointed both French sides had to duke it out in the quarters, but at least it assures a team in the semi-finals and the French League deserves it.
I think Inter can take CSKA by a narrow margin. I’ll never discredit a Russian side. Arsenal is a question mark. They have what it takes to beat Barcelona, but they NEED to contain Messi. The guy is out of his mind with the way he’s been running at defenses and the Arsenal back line is quick to tackle so don’t be surprised if Barca gets a PK or two. Still, I think if Arsenal can pick up this win they’ll have what it takes to oust Inter.
Bayern Munich tends to be sloppy and Manchester is as composed as it gets. Though I’d really enjoy watching Bayern Munich pick up the win I just don’t see it happening. In the other match it’ll be interesting. Lyon are sprinting up the Ligue 1 table and Bordeaux are slipping down. I don’t recall Lyon losing a single game in 2010. With that said Bordeaux have not lost a game in Europe this season, which is quite impressive. Bordeaux vs. Manchester United in the semi. Biggest upset in the tournament will take place when they meet.
In the final, the game goes into overtime. Arsenal take some awful penalties, but miraculously it’s their goalkeeping that saves them and makes them kinds of Europe.
Have a mapped out a big enough fantasy?
“Kings of Europe”. I got a little ahead of myself in excitement.
I’m relishing a Utd./Bordeaux matchup as well but we (United) will most definitely be going through. I just hope Gourcuff makes a good impression on Fergie.
As for this Arsenal/Bordeaux final, you do know that Bordeaux aren’t exactly the most exciting team to watch right? If Arsenal come out guns blazing, then perhaps there’ll be enough space left open for some Bordeaux counters. Otherwise, Bordeaux play a very defensive game and score the majority of their goals from set pieces. The only moments of genius that you might see from that team will come in the form of one Yoann Gourcuff. That alone is worth the price of admission in my book, but the sexy passing will come from only one side, and that’s Arsenal.
Not the draw i hoped for, i wanted Bordeaux, then Lyon and then Bordeaux again in the final. Barca , then Inter, then Bayern/Utd…
Phew.
Messi has just been handed video footage of Sol Campbell. PLs Gallas, come back.
Messi will score 10 goals over 2 Legs…LOL at Gooners fans thinking they have a shot. Is that arseblogger has told you to say?
I’ll take United and SAF over any team over 2 legs. A one off is a different story.
CSKA is a team that can see pulling off the major upset. I think Inter could be caught becoming complacent after beating Chelsea.
Pjanic, Pjanic, Pjanic, that kid is something and it’s a shame he wont be at the WC.
I see Inter/Barca and United/Lyon getting through.
Sorry it should say, Is that what Arseblogger…..
Manchester United v Barcelona final.
The only match that anyone wants in the final. Rooney v Messi.
Fantastic!!!!
It has never been an easy pairing 4 ManU. Please check the records
yet another easy draw for united – barcelona, arsenal and mourinho all on the other side of the draw. how do they do it every year?
Every year?
last year United had to beat Mourinho and Arsenal before the played Barca.
your point is well taken, m. sparks. that being said, the three best teams this year, other than united, are all on the other side of the draw from them.
man u will clinch the title….;-)
Arsenal and Barcelona have a similar playing style but Arsenal have a lot more depth and quality in every position not to mention a little wonderkid called Messi.
If Barca show up on form they are likely to outscore Arsenal by a very very significant margin over the 2 legs. In fact I’d be surprised to see Messi score less than 3 goals over the 2 legs.
I’d say Barca might have more difficulty getting past Inter Milan though. Inter Milan are a pretty good team with the way they can bog you down and stop passing and the flow of the game. They might be able to overcome Barca.
As it stands I see United beating Bayern Munich(close game). United will beat one of the French teams too and get to the final.
Barca will blow Arsenal out of the water with Messi starring then face Inter Milan and either Inter Milan or Barca will face United in a very tight and close final.
I meant Barcelona have a lot more depth and quality…
I have Barca to win the whole thing, not detracting from other teams but I think Barca has the best overall squad. However, anything can happen in the champions league and I wish the EPL teams the best of luck.
Good luck Gunner and Red Devil supporters
Arsenal is vastly overrated. The Gooners can’t stay on the same pitch as Chelsea or United much less Barcelona.
Hate to break it to you, that vastly overated team is tied with Chelsea on the table and is still competing for European silverware…
Patrick the point he is making is when Arsenal have faced Chelsea and United this year they have come up significantly short.
In a knock out tournament Arsenal will not be able to take points from lesser teams to make up what they lost against United and Chelsea.
In other words if Arsenal played Barcelona and lost like they did to United and Chelsea they would be out of it completely. Of course Barcelona are just as good if not better than Chelsea and United on their day so if United and Chelsea can smash Arsenal to bits why can’t Barcelona?
I do think it isn’t that simple I think the most important thing about football is playstyles and with Arsenal and Barcelonas playstyle meshing I’d predict there are going to be a lot of goals. I just think Messis role is being under estimated here just like Rooneys role was when United played Arsenal a few weeks ago.
It’s a tough draw for Arsenal but I am okay with it. For me the real worst case scenario was getting United again. I think that would have made 11 times the two clubs have played in the last 3 seasons. Nothing new there.
As it is, Arsenal/Barcelona will have a very special feel to it. Henry v. Arsenal, Cesc v. Barca, 2006 Revenge, the two “prettiest” sides in the world. Plenty to get excited about.
The odds are decidedly against Arsenal, but if they somehow manage to navigate a potential road of Barcelona, Mourinho’s Inter Milan, and United it will be one of the greatest accomplishments in the club’s history. I feel pretty relaxed about it since no one really expects us to advance.
i hope the hype doesn’t effect the arsenal’s concentration, i could see arsenal outplay to themselves.
If we are to believe the football pundits who constantly point out that the game starts and begins at the midfield then the two holding midfielders for Arsenal might be the difference. Because both sides will attack with Venom. Arsenal through Cesc, Nasri and Arshavin and Barca through Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. But Alex Song and Abu Diaby just might have that crucial holding role to play for Arsenal to stop Barca attack and provide precise cut-through balls for Cesc and Nasri to pierce Barca. Song and Diaby both have played marvellously for Arsenal throughout the season. Barca will absolutely try to stop Cesc, but just behind Cesc the two big players will have a greater role to play.
i agree, song and diaby could be the difference between arsenal and barcelona, they have a good future with arsenal.
Hate to break it to you, but Iniesta and Messi play up front for Barca and have done since breaking in to the team.
Iniesta plays in midfield for Spain.
So, Yaya Toure, Xavi and Busquets will be the 3 you mention.
Manc U will fall short of the finals. Do not fret, Bayern will topple the devils. However, Bordeaux will beat the winner of Manc U/Bayern so it is a moot point. Gourcouf will make the difference for the Ligue 1 leaders.
French ligue champs vs La liga champs for the final on FOX. You heard it here first Gaffer.
It’s not all doom and gloom, yes barca hold the edge but it’s not an overwhelming one, from now till march 31st injuries could swing this tie in favor of anyone. Besides to be the best you have to beat the best! SIMPLES
God, people who use adverts as punchlines get on my tits.
to me arsenal has all it takes to beat barca,
to me arsenal has all it takes to beat barca,
Barcelona has a better keeper. a better defense. a better midfield. and a better front line. Unless refs or injuries decide the case arsenal is out.