Champions League: Arsenal, Chelsea face tough Italians

17 December,2011 07:45 AM IST |   |  AFP

Gunners drawn against AC Milan while Blues set to take on Napoli in Champions League last 16


Gunners drawn against AC Milan while Blues set to take on Napoli in Champions League last 16

England's two surviving representatives in the Champions League, Chelsea and Arsenal, were handed tough ties against Italian opposition in Friday's draw for the last 16, while holders Barcelona will come up against Germany's Bayer Leverkusen.


The prize: The UEFA Champions League trophy on display during theu00a0
draw for the last 16 at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon yesterday. Pic/AFP

Chelsea will take on Napoli, while Arsenal will meet reigning Serie A champions AC Milan, with both Premier League clubs travelling to Italy first.u00a0Chelsea have never previously faced Napoli, but they will know not to take Walter Mazzarri's side lightly after they qualified for the last 16 at the expense of Manchester City.u00a0The 2008 beaten finalists have also only ever won once in Italy in seven attempts.

"I think that at this stage we can come up with the cliches about it being difficult, and it will be difficult because we've seen that Napoli were in the same group as Manchester City, so that reflects on the quality of Napoli," Chelsea secretary David Barnard said.

Paris: Arsenal's Champions League last 16 fixture against AC Milan is a repeat of their meeting at the same stage in 2007-08.u00a0On that occasion the Gunners won 2-0 on aggregate, with Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor scoring late goals in the second-leg at the San Siro after a goalless first-leg.u00a0

"It's going to be a fantastic two games," Arsenal club secretary David Miles told Sky Sports after the draw, before admitting: "But there are probably some other teams we may have preferred."u00a0Milan have also been eliminated by English clubs (Tottenham & Man Utd) in the round of 16 in each of the last two campaigns.

Champions League last sixteen...
>> Lyon vs Apoel Nicosiau00a0
>>u00a0Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona
>>u00a0AC Milan vs Arsenalu00a0
>>u00a0Z St-Petersburg vs Benfica
>>u00a0Napoli vs Chelsea
>>u00a0CSKA Moscow vs Real Madridu00a0
>>u00a0Basel v Bayern Munichu00a0
>>u00a0Marseille vs Inter Milan
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Gunners drawn AC Milan Napoli Arsenal Chelsea