Arsenal’s dream Champions League draw as Mikel Arteta's approach is vindicated

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal will be delighted with how the Champions League has played out this season

Arsenal have learned who they could face in the last-16 of the Champions League following the conclusion of the dramatic play-off round, with both possibilities representing a dream outcome.

The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs join the eight teams who have already qualified from the league phase table, including Arsenal, in this Friday’s draw.

The draw will reveal who the Gunners will play in their first knockout tie of the competition out of Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta. Both teams represent a favourable draw for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta will be confident his side has what it takes to dispatch either Leverkusen or Atalanta when playing at their best.

Arsenal already learned which side of the tournament bracket they were on following the conclusion of the eight-game league phase, where they emerged on top of the 36-team table thanks to a flawless record of eight wins.

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Tuesday and Wednesday’s play-off matches saw German giants Leverkusen and Serie A side Atalanta both progress to the last-16, following wins over Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund, respectively.

Leverkusen saw out a comfortable second-leg clash with the Greek club, drawing 0-0 at home after securing a 2-0 lead away from home in the first leg. Kasper Hjulmand’s side had finished 16th in the league phase table previously.

Atalanta, meanwhile, made harder work of their route to the last-16, having lost their first-leg tie away at Dortmund 2-0 initially. That left them with a mountain to climb on Wednesday, which they managed in incredible fashion.

The Italian side, who finished 15th in the league phase, secured a 4-1 win at home (4-3 aggregate) as Dortmund capitulated defensively, conceding a penalty in the 98th minute to send Raffaele Palladino’s men to the next round.

Leverkusen are sixth in the Bundesliga while Atalanta are seventh in Serie A, demonstrating again that a side like Arsenal, who are leading the Premier League, should beat either team without major problems.

The north Londoners have already defeated the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid comfortably this season in the competition, who are considered tougher opponents. They boast European pedigree now too, having beaten Real Madrid and Porto in the knockout stages of the competition in recent seasons.

Finishing with eight wins out of eight in the league phase ensured Arsenal will not face some of the tougher teams who finished outside the top eight, including Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. This proves Arteta was right to take each game in the competition seriously.

Whether they end up taking on Atalanta or Leverkusen, they cannot take their eye off the ball, however. The Champions League is known for throwing up surprises and neither team will go down without a fight. The Gunners will therefore need to be at their ruthless best when they play their fixtures in March.

Atalanta forward Gianluca Scamacca, formerly of West Ham, is a player to keep a close eye on if Arsenal draw the Italian side. The striker’s clinical finishing and hold up play can be a handful for any defender, as he showed when finding the next against Dortmund. The fixture would also see former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac return to the Emirates Stadium.

Meanwhile, Leverkusen pride themselves on a solid defence which will require the Arsenal forwards to be firing on all cylinders if they are to break it down.

Arteta led Arsenal to the semi-finals last season after a decade-long absence from the final four, where they were knocked out by eventual winners PSG. Now, they will be looking to use that as fuel and win the competition for the first time in their history.

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