ARSENAL could face a nightmare path to the Champions League final after Real Madrid beat Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta‘s side were one of eight teams to automatically qualify for the Round of 16.
That means they did not have to take part in the play-off stage over the last two weeks, which saw City dumped out by Real Madrid.
After Wednesday’s results, Arsenal now know they will face either PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord in the last-16, after the Dutch duo dumped out Juventus and AC Milan respectively.
The Gunners will feel confident of beating each over two legs.
However, it’s afterwards when things could be very tricky.
Should the Gunners be paired with PSV in Friday’s draw, they will face the prospect of playing defending champions Real in the quarters.
That would be if Madrid navigate a potential derby clash with neighbours Atletico or German champions Bayer Leverkusen next.
A potential semi-final could then see Arsenal face Liverpool – with the 2nd leg coming just days before the pair’s potential Premier League title showdown at Anfield on May 11.
Other potential rivals in that side of the draw would be Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona.
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Meanwhile, should the Gunners be drawn with Feyenoord in the last-16, they would avoid Madrid in the quarters, instead having bogey team Bayern Munich, as a potential opponent, along with Leverkusen and Atletico.
Benfica and Dortmund would then become potential semi-final opponents, along with Lille and Aston Villa.
By contrast Liverpool have an easier set of fixtures up until the semi-final, with PSG and Dortmund arguably the most difficult teams they could potentially face.
Liverpool could play PSG in the next round after they beat Brest, or Benfica following their narrow victory over Monaco.
Aston Villa were pulled out on the same side of the draw as Liverpool and could face Club Brugge or Dortmund in the Round of 16 after those two sides progressed through the play-offs.
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