Arsenal can plot route to final after avoiding big sides
- Published
Arsenal can plot their route to the Champions League final now the draw for the knockout stage of the competition has been completed.
The Gunners will player Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 and, if they get past the German side, it is Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals for a place in the last four.
Beyond that, they would face one of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Newcastle or Tottenham in the semi‑finals.
The big news for Mikel Arteta's side, not that there are any guarantees in knockout football, is that they have avoided Paris St-Germain, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, who are all on the other side of the draw.
The match against Bayer Leverkusen will give Piero Hincapie a chance to come up against his former side. The defender is on loan with the Gunners, though they do have the option to make that deal permanent.
There's still a long way to go but it keeps Arsenal's hopes of trophies this season alive and the draw will have fans speculating about whether they could actually win the quadruple.
The Gunners are top of the Premier League, in the Carabao Cup final, have a favourable route in the Champions League and face League One side Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round.
