A 3-0 win in Greece on Wednesday evening saw Arsenal cruise into the Champions League knockout stages.
It’s the 16th consecutive season Arsène Wenger has guided the Gunners through the first group stage of the competition, and he will be glued to his television on Monday when the knockout round draw takes place in Nyon.
After finishing second in the group, Arsenal will have to play one of the winners of the other groups but can’t face Bayern Munich as they were in the same group.
That means the German champions won’t have the chance to knock Arsenal out of the last 16, as they did in 2013 and 2014. However Barcelona, current holders and the side who knocked Arsenal out in 2010 and 2011, could visit the Emirates Stadium once again in February.
With Chelsea and Manchester City winning their groups and teams from the same country unable to draw each other until the quarter-final stage, Arsenal can only be drawn against one of five teams on Monday.
Group A winners: Record European cup winners Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo could face Arsenal. Last time the teams met was in 2006, when Arsenal won 1-0 at the Bernabeu on the way to the final.
Group B winners: VfL Wolfsburg are in the knockout rounds for the first time after knocking out Manchester United. Arsenal beat them 1-0 at the Emirates Cup in the summer, but they do have Nicklas Bendtner.
Group C winners: 2014 finalists Atlético Madrid probably have the meanest defence in Europe and would provide a huge test.
Group E winners: Current holders FC Barcelona probably have the best three players in the world with Luis Suárez, Neymar and Lionel Messi leading the line. This is the one side Wenger won’t want to face.
Group H winners: A journey to St. Petersburg wouldn’t be great, but playing André Villas-Boas’ Zenit St. Petersburg side sounds a lot more appealing than any other group winner.
Ultimately, Arsenal will fancy their chances against almost any side here except Barcelona. So, we all know who we’re likely to be drawn against…