On Tuesday evening, the Champions League will resume action featuring two exciting clashes between four of Europe's biggest teams: Arsena, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Juventus. Unfortunately for Gunners fans, they are again faced with a tough round of 16 opponent as they are the side who will be tasked with trying to stop last season's Treble winners Barcelona in London.
One certainly can't fault Arsenal supporters from letting out a collective groan when they found out they will have to take on the most feared attacking trio in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar, or "MSN" as they are often referred to as on social media.
Meanwhile, Blaugrana fans, naturally, will be fancying their team's chances. Whilst they will not be overconfident and already be imagining their team in the quarter-finals, they surely will expect Luis Enrique's men to find a way to successfully navigate their way through 180 minutes of action to make it to the next round and beyond.
Ahead of this eagerly anticipated meeting between Arsenal and Barcelona at the Emirates tomorrow evening, LiveSoccerTV.com has compiled a bunch of interesting stats and facts concerning this mega-clash. Some of these may be well known, others not so much, but all in all, they provide an interesting backdrop for the upcoming mouth-watering tie.
1. Czech-mate: Will we finally see Lionel Messi break his hoodoo against Petr Čech?
Whether you're a huge fan of Lionel Messi or one of those who will vehemently argue that Cristiano Ronaldo is better does not matter. Anyone who watches football will have to agree that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is an absolute nightmare for defenders and goalkeepers alike. Yet, despite scoring past top-clash shot-stoppers like Gianluigi Buffon, Manuel Neuer, and Iker Casillas (before his rather disturbing decline), there is one man that the Barcelona ace has yet to beat: Petr Čech.
Čech will be hoping to maintain his perfect record against Messi when Arsenal face Barcelona tomorrow evening
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Yes, that is correct: in their past six meetings, Messi has not been able to score against Čech. Tomorrow's meeting will be the seventh between the striker and the shot-stopper, who is now the Premier League's all-time leader for clean sheets kept. So, now with Arsenal, will the veteran goalkeeper be able to stop the Argentinian superstar yet again? Gunners fans will obviously be hoping so!
2. The Round of 16 has been Arsene Wenger's Waterloo as of late...and it all started with Barcelona
In the 2009/2010 season, Arsenal made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. That would be the last time Arsene Wenger's side would ever feature in the final eight, and it was Barcelona who ended their Champions League run six seasons ago after defeating them 6-3 on aggregate.
Since then, Arsenal have, of course, qualified for the knock-out rounds, but things would end before they even started, meaning that heading into this fixture, Wenger's team have failed to make it beyond the round of 16 in their past five seasons. Ironically, perhaps, this bad run of form started with another meeting with Barcelona during the 2010/2011 season, and they have had to play Bayern Munich twice at this stage as well. However, not all their draws have been bad - Arsenal did end up paired with AC Milan in the 2011/2012 edition and then Monaco last season, but again fell short. Will tomorrow mark a turning of the tide for Wenger?
3. Luis Suarez is a one-man wrecking machine
Making up one-third of "MSN", Luis Suarez has been a man on a mission this season. The Uruguayan star has scored a whopping 41 goals across all competitions (or 44 if one wanted to count his three during the ICC this past summer). Now, here's a stat that will make Arsenal fans cringe: Suarez alone has scored as many goals as the entire Arsenal squad have netted in the Premier League. Additionally, his 41 goals are more than 16 out of the 20 sides currently competing in English football's top flight this season.
In top form: Arsenal's defenders will have to put in good shift if they wish to keep Suarez quiet
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4. Neymar getting in on the action, too
Well, we can not talk about Messi and Suarez without mentioning the other member of their trio: Neymar. The Brazilian has scored 23 goals and has chipped in with 16 assists across all competitions, and we are only in February!
Messi, Suarez, and Neymar alone have scored 91 goals in all competitions. That is 30 more than Arsenal's total output of 61. But not to worry, MSN have also outscored both Bayern Munich (86) and Juventus (62) who will be beginning their own battle for a quarter-finals berth in Turin. In fact, out of the 16 teams left in this competition, the only side that has scored more than MSN is Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid (95).
Prolific: Messi, Suarez, and Neymar have alone scored more than nearly every single team featuring in the round of 16
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5. An interesting reunion between Wenger and Luis Enrique
Although this will be the first time Luis Enrique will be facing Arsenal as a manager, the Spanish tactician is certainly familiar with them - and coach Wenger - as a player. Back in the 1999/2000 season, the Blaugrana faced Arsenal during the group stages. The current Barcelona manager played a vital role: scoring during the 1-1 draw at Camp Nou and again in a 4-2 win at Wembley, which was then the Gunners' home ground.
Now, 16 years later, will Luis Enrique be able taste success against Arsenal now as a manager in this interesting reunion with Wenger?
6. Home stadium advantage for Arsenal against Messi?
It might be painful for Gunners fans to accept, but so far, Arsenal are Messi's favorite side to score against. The Argentinian ace netted four during the quarter-finals in April 2010 and another two during a round of 16 tie in March 2011. However, here's one thing that might give them a glimmer of hope: Messi has never scored at the Emirates. All six of these goals have been at the Camp Nou, so it will be interesting to see if he can finally open his account at Arsenal's home ground, or if Wenger's troops will deny him for a third time tomorrow evening.
Will Messi end his frustrating drought at the Emirates on Tuesday?
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7. Home sweet home? Not so much for the Gunners...
In the past three seasons, Arsenal have played the first leg of the round of 16 at home. Traditionally, fans will expect their team to perform better on their home turf so as to prepare themselves for the tougher away leg. Well, the opposite has happened to the Gunners, as they have lost every single one of these home legs. Bayern Munich departed with a win in hand in 2013 and 2014, followed by Monaco in 2015.
8. ...but oddly enough, they have done better on the road!
Curiously enough, Arsenal, despite losing their past three home round of 16 matches, have not lost in a round of 16 away leg since 2012, when they were thrashed 4-0 by Milan at the San Siro. In 2013, they recovered valiantly to beat 2-0 Bayern at the Allianz Arena, but it was not enough. A year later, they again tried to fight back and held die Roten to a 1-1 draw, but again, it was too little, too late. And finally, last season saw them suffer a shock 3-1 reversal to Monaco, rendering their 2-0 road win a moot point.
However, this time, they will be at the Camp Nou, a place that does not bring good memories for Gunners fans, so obviously will hope their team gets things right at home this time around.
9. Seeing quite a few familiar faces on the pitch
Barcelona have only lost one out of their seven prior meetings to Arsenal. On February 16, 2011, the Gunners staged an impressive come-back to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Robin Van Persie and Russian striker Andrey Arshavin.
Out of all the players who were involved in that game five years ago, only one - Theo Walcott - could play a role for Arsenal tomorrow as Jack Wilshere is still out injured. By contrast, Barcelona will definitely have five players - Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, and Messi - all in their starting XI who will be keen on making it five wins in eight meetings in less than 24 hours' time.
So, there you have it: nine interesting facts surrounding the upcoming clash between Arsenal and Barcelona. And tomorrow, fans will see whether this contest will truly be a one-sided affair - as many have predicted - or if the Gunners will be able to put up a good fight to keep the rampant Blaugrana at bay.
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