Manchester United and Barcelona are on course for a repeat of last season's Champions League final after being kept apart in the quarter-final draw. But the Spaniards, who beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side 2-0 in May, will have to overcome English opposition first in the shape of Arsenal. The Gunners were beaten by Barcelona in their only final appearance, in 2006, and the game pits Thierry Henry against his former club for the first time since he left Arsenal three years ago.
"Barcelona are a good team and more important than admiring them is to focus on us," said Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager. "We will not be favourites, but for me it will be 50-50 game. You respect what they have done, but on the day if we turn up with our best performance we have a good chance to beat them." United will take on Bayern Munich, who they famously beat in the 1999 final with two dramatic late goals.
Ferguson said: "The history of playing Bayern in past European ties tells you it's going to be a very difficult tie for us." Should they prevail, the Premier League champions will face Bordeaux or another French side, Lyon, in the semi-finals. Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan - conquerors of Chelsea - will meet CSKA Moscow, with the victors taking on Barcelona or Arsenal in the semis. akhan@thenational.ae