Arsenal face mission impossible tomorrow night in the Champions League, going to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona and overturning a 2-0 goal deficit.
In the past, Arsenal have managed to beat the big boys of Europe when the chips were down, most noticeably defeating an unbeaten Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena a few years back, only to crash out due to a poor first leg result.
Can the Gunners do the same this time around against Barcelona? Well, courtesy of OPTA, here are 13 match facts and stats about both sides to help you decide:
1. Barcelona are in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive campaign. They have reached the semi-finals in seven of the last eight campaigns.
2. Barcelona have won the Champions League in four of the last 10 seasons. They could become the first team since AC Milan to win back-to-back European Cup/Champions League titles. The Rossoneri did it in 1989 & 1990.
3. Arsenal are the only team alongside Real Madrid to have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League every season since the new format in 2003/04. They have gone out in the last 16 in each of the last five seasons.
4. Barcelona have come out on top in each of their three previous Champions League home & away knockout encounters with Arsenal: 2006 final (2-1), 2009/10 quarter-final (6-3 on agg.) and 2010/11 last 16 (4-3 on agg.).
5. Arsenal have never beaten Barcelona at the Camp Nou (D1 L2). They’ve conceded seven goals in their last two Champions League trips to Catalonia.
6. Only one team has beaten Barcelona by at least two clear goals at the Camp Nou in the Champions League in the last 12 seasons: Bayern Munich in May 2013 (3-0).
7. Barcelona are one of two clubs still unbeaten in the Champions League this season, the other being Real Madrid. They have won 16 of their 20 Champions League games since last season (D2 L2), scoring in all 20 games.
8. Luis Enrique has won all nine of his Champions League games at the Camp Nou as Barcelona manager (24 goals scored, 4 conceded). A 10th win in a row would set a new record for the Blaugranas in the competition.
9. Arsenal and Barcelona’s eight previous Champions League encounters have produced 29 goals, an average of 3.6 per game.
10. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last three away games in the knockout stages of the Champions League (W2 D1).
11. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have scored 39 of Barcelona’s 48 Champions League goals since last season.
12. Messi has scored eight goals in five Champions League games against Arsenal, his favourite opponent in the competition alongside AC Milan.
13. Alexis Sanchez has been directly involved in 58% of Arsenal’s Champions League goals this season, scoring three times and delivering four assists.
