Bayern v Arsenal in last sixteen

Bayern have been handed a tough but highly attractive first knockout round tie in this season’s Champions League as the 2013 winners and current Bundesliga league leaders were paired with North London giants Arsenal in Monday lunchtime’s draw for the last sixteen, resuming a rivalry that already extends to 10 meetings in European competition, all of them since 2000/01.

“We’ve been handed Arsenal, who we know well. They’re a good side. They are second in England and in good form. Both matches will be tough and we have to play well and concentrate to reach the quarter finals,” FCB chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge commented after the draw.

Reds' positive record

The Bavarians have a positive record against the Gunners: of the ten Champions League meetings so far, FCB have won five, drawn two and lost three. The teams most recently met in last season’s group stage: the match in London ended 2-0 to the home team, with Munich winning 5-1 at the Allianz Arena. The tie has been a Champions League Round of 16 pairing three times in the past with the Reds progressing on all three occasions.

Arsenal made the last sixteen as Group A winners, finishing ahead of Paris Saint Germain, PFC Ludogorets Rezgrad and FC Basel. Arsene Wenger’s team currently lie second in the Premier League behind Chelsea.

First leg in February, return in March

The draw ceremony was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland from midday CET on Monday and was supervised by UEFA chief of communications Pedro Pinto and UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti, and conducted on this occasion by former star Ruud Gullit. The 16-team line-up featured seven former winners of Europe's elite club competition and nine of last year's knockout contenders, with a total of four teams from Spain, three each from Germany and England, and two each from Italy, France and Portugal.

As group runners-up, Bayern play the first leg of the Round of 16 tie at the Allianz Arena in Munich, with the return away from home at the Emirates Stadium in London. The first legs will be played on 14-15 and 21-22 February, with the second legs on 7-8 and 14-15 March. This year’s final takes place at the National Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 3 June 2017.

Champions League first knockout round draw in full:

Manchester City v AS Monaco
Real Madrid v Napoli
Benfica v Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich v Arsenal
Porto v Juventus
Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid
Paris St Germain v Barcelona
Sevilla v Leicester