2 hours ago
5
Arsenal will discover their Champions League last 16 opponents in Friday's draw when the Gunners will also learn their potential pathway to the final in Budapest
Arsenal will face either Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta in the Champions League last 16.
The Gunners are set to learn their fate in Friday's draw after Dortmund (leading 2-0) have concluded their play-off tie against Italian opponents Atalanta.
Dortmund currently lead 2-0 from the first leg so at this moment in time, it looks as though Mikel Arteta's side will likely head to Germany to face either Leverkusen or BVB in the last-eight.
Should Arsenal draw Leverkusen, it may raise questions about the availability of loanee Piero Hincapie.
The Ecuador international defender joined Arsenal on loan from Bayer last September, though a £45million buy-option was also included in the deal.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
However, unlike the Premier League, UEFA rules allow loan players to feature against parent clubs, meaning Hincapie would be able to face Leverkusen if Arsenal are drawn against the Bundesliga side in the quarter-finals.
This has already happened on several occasions; Philippe Coutinho scored twice against parent club Barcelona for Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 Champions League.
Thibaut Courtois also previously featured against Chelsea for Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals back in the 2013-14 season.
It means Arsenal do not have to worry about losing Hincapie should they draw Leverkusen and on paper, that might be a tie the Premier League leaders relish.
Leverkusen are currently sixth in the Bundesliga standings and have endured a mixed campaign after sacking Erik ten Hag in September after just three matches at the helm.
Progress has been steady under Danish boss Kasper Hjulmand but despite beating play-off opponents Olympiacos 2-0 in Greece, they failed to score on home soil against the Greek giants in the return fixture on Tuesday (0-0 draw).
Meanwhile, Dortmund have lost just once in their opening 23 Bundesliga matches as they continue to hunt down leaders and heavy title favourites Bayern Munich.
BVB have already visited north London this season and were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham back in January when defender Daniel Svensson was sent off following a VAR check.
Arsenal have already had a taste of how tough it can be against Atalanta in Bergamo following a 0-0 draw with the Italian outfit in last season's Champions League group phase.
David Raya rescued a point following a stunning double save in which he denied Mateo Retegui from the penalty spot.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
English (US) ·