Mathieu Flamini has echoed the thoughts of most Arsenal fans by admitting that he doesn’t want us to draw Barcelona in the Champions League knock-out stages… but was this wise?

Of course we don’t want to draw Barca. They’re playing well and always manage to knock us out. However, should our players really be admitting they’re worried about facing them?

“We obviously don’t want Barcelona as they are a top team,” the midfielder said.

“But for the rest, we will see. We played Monaco last year and we thought it would be a bit easier maybe, and it was not the case, so whoever we play we will give 100%.”

Behind the scenes, if we do draw someone like the Catalan giants, I’m sure there will be a huge groan. But in front of the fans, our players should be a shining example of confidence. Not necessarily over-confident but at least hopeful.

By already admitting we want to avoid certain teams in the next stages of the competition, we’re laying all our cards on the table and letting the world know that we don’t think we’re good enough to beat them.

While I understand where Flamini is coming from, as one of the more senior members of the squad, he needs to be a pillar of strength and optimism.